


Gods & Fighting Men

by Olipie



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, Skulduggery Pleasant - Derek Landy, The Dresden Files - Jim Butcher
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:34:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 36,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24533893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Olipie/pseuds/Olipie
Summary: A crossover story bringing together the worlds of Skulduggery Pleasant, The Dresden Files and Percy Jackson.
Comments: 13
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Credit to user kingofclubs8129 for helping bring this story to life with their great worldbuilding.

In the end, I didn't bring much with me when I left for Ireland. My flight was already a miserable affair, lasting just over seven hours and leaving me in a sickening state. I had to have Bob help me brew a special potion that left my magic fully suppressed for two days before even going anywhere near a plane. I could have tried to hold it back myself, but there was no way I was risking something like that on a full plane for seven hours. Unfortunately, a side effect of this was making me feel like utter crap the entire time. According to Bob, it was a kind of sickened state, the potion imitating the effects of a particularly nasty creature of the Nevernever that sucked out the magic from living things, leaving them weak and ill unless they were lucky enough to kill it, in which case their magic would be naturally returned. Thankfully in my case, the effects would just wear off about two days after I initially drank the potion, but it was a harrowing experience nonetheless.

I felt brittle and frail the whole trip, as if I had just gone cold turkey on a heavily addicting substance, which made me very thankful I packed light. I really couldn’t imagine how much more painful it would be if I had needed to lug around a huge suitcase with all my assorted books and belongings. I traveled as light as a wizard could, bringing a few magical trinkets, my trusty blasting rod, my duster, and one exceptionally grumpy human skull that kept insisting I bring him in my hand luggage rather than stuffed in a suitcase next to my underwear. I would have usually brought my gun, but that kind of thing didn’t swing in Ireland, so my Smith and Wesson Chief's Special was locked in my office safe. I made a mental note to try and find something else non-magical to defend myself with when I arrived, but there really wasn’t much I could get away with in Ireland, short of maybe a pocket knife.

I initially wanted to sleep when I got onto the plane, but almost as soon as we actually started taking off and I found myself clutching the armrest so hard that even the little girl seated in the aisle next to mine was looking worried for me. Flying was definitely not my style, and it definitely didn’t help to know that if something did go wrong I wouldn’t have any of my magic to protect me. Not there would be much I could do anyway if the plane did just decide to fall out of the sky, except maybe unleash my death curse on a passing shark. Thankfully, the seven hours of pure pain passed without any major incident, I was even able to choke down a stale sandwich in between the frequent panic attacks brought on with every small patch of turbulence we went through.

When the plane finally landed, I actually kissed the ground and managed a weak cheer before practically sprinting my way to a bathroom to throw up. After cleaning myself up and retrieving my suitcase, still acting as Bob's temporary home, I made my way out of the airport and took in the fresh Dublin air. It really was quite a beautiful city in its own right, nothing like Chicago. It felt much less aggressive and fast-paced, peaceful even. There was also a strange sense I got just from being there, even with my magic suppressed for another few hours I could feel my skin tingling. The air was thick with magic, the strange tingling running over my exposed skin whenever I moved. It would definitely take some getting used to, but I had been expecting something like this.

After the so-called “Sanctuary” had extended an invitation to me, I had done my research on Ireland. It was quite a famous place magically speaking, with a lot of fairies and fae supposedly being born there. The exact term I ran across in my research and conversations with Bob was “Cradle of magic”, and the fact I could already see why was worrying. I had run into my fair share of dangerous magical individuals already, I could only imagine how terrifying a practitioner coming from a cradle of magic would be. There were sure to be many powerful wizards in Ireland, which was likely why the white council had been so insistent on me accepting the invitation. If I were to act as their emissary and make peace with the local equivalent of the council, maybe even getting some of their mages to join, we would have access to some powerful allies and likely new forms of magic. 

Why the sanctuary had extended their invitation to me, “Harry Dresden - Wizard For Hire” of all people, was still something of a mystery. There were wizards far more skilled and better known in the community than me, the only thing I really stood out in was that I was more public than most about my skills. Bob had made a joke about them wanting to hire me for a case, and while I had laughed it off initially, I was starting to think that maybe that wasn’t too far from the truth. The sanctuary had paid for my flight, as well as put me up in a five-star place called “The Grandeur Hotel” for the duration of the visit. Part of me just wanted to accept that as good hospitality for their visitor, but I couldn’t help feeling there was more to it than that.

Figuring I would have plenty of time to worry about that after I had a rest and recovered from the awful magic suppressant and the flight, I found the closest taxi outside of the airport and paid them to take me to the hotel. It wasn’t too long of a trip, just under an hour, but it really didn't help when I was already feeling travel sick. I tried looking out the window to take in the city, but that just made things worse and I really didn't want to have to end up paying the taxi driver to have his backseats cleaned. Thankfully I was able to withstand the bumpy Irish roads until we reached our destination, and I staggered into the hotel so exhausted I almost forgot my suitcase.

Thankfully checking in was quick and painless, my room having been booked in advance all I had to do was show some ID and wait for my key. As I waited, I took a look around the lobby. It truly was a high-class hotel, complete with a small fountain, café and even live piano music. I really didn’t feel like I fit in at a place like this, but from the look of the other guests I wasn’t the only one. I noticed a few odd figures that stood out from most of the businessmen and well-dressed guests, including a young boy with a crazily styled head of hair complaining to some of the staff about something to do with the game console in his room, and a pair of individuals dressed in dark clothing in one corner, seemingly surveying the lobby. I didn’t pay too much attention, but I definitely found it odd that the taller of the two in the corner was wearing a scarf, hat and sunglasses, as well as gloves. None of his skin was showing, and I couldn’t understand why someone wearing such a finely tailored suit and hat would choose to hide their face, but I just figured the guy must have had a skin condition or something like that. 

The girl he was with stood out just as much amongst the hotel guests. She was wearing a dark leather jacket, jeans and a scowl on her face mean enough to keep anyone from approaching her, myself included. I definitely found the pair odd, and I couldn’t quite put my finger on it at the time, but something just seemed particularly off about the taller of the two. Before I could focus too much on it however, the staff at the desk gave me my key and directed me to the elevators. At first I looked for the stairs, then I remembered that with the magic suppressant still in effect, I could just take the elevator rather than painfully lugging my suitcase up to the eighth floor. As the doors opened with a soft dinging, I caught sight of the boy with the crazy hairstyle heading for the stairs nearby. Our eyes met for a second, and he gave me a nod which I confusedly returned before he called out to me.

“Which floor?”

“What?”

“Which floor are you heading to?”

“Oh, they got me on floor eight.” I had no idea why the cocky sounding kid was asking but I figured I’d humor him.

“Race you there.” The kid shot me a grin, to which I just shrugged, stepping into the elevator with my suitcase and hitting the button for my floor. The trip up was smooth and fast, which left me all the more surprised when I stepped out to see the kid from the lobby leaned against the adjacent wall, cocky grin still on his face. He didn’t seem tired in the slightest, not sweaty or out of breath, not even his hair was ruffled in the slightest.

“Beat ya, you owe me a coke.” The kid laughed at the flustered expression on my face.

“You got a twin or something?” I looked up and down the hotel hallway, not quite sure what I was expecting to find. As I moved around a bit I felt it. The tingling all around me, the magic in the air. I started to look at the kid much more appraisingly. Surely someone so young couldn’t be experienced enough in the magical arts to pull something like super speed or teleportation off right?

“Nope, just a little trick I’ve been working on, not bad right?” I was really having a hard time reading the kid. Where I came from people didn’t just freely flaunt magical ability in public, they would know better after going through the rigorous training it took to actually achieve any kind of control over magical forces of any kind. I decided to try and bluff the kid, and try and get a little information out of him.

“Not bad at all kid, been a while since I’ve met someone who can really teleport, don’t suppose you’d mind popping over to my office in Chicago for me? Want to make sure my cat is doing alright.” I made sure to speak in a joking manner, to play it off if I was wrong, but the look of surprise that the kid failed to conceal let me know I was at least somewhat close to the mark.

“U-uh sorry, I have to go… meet a friend…” Before I could call after him the kid had sprinted down the hallway, into the stairwell. I considered going after him, but another powerful fluctuation of the magic in the air told me that he was most likely long gone by now. It was something I would have to ask the folks over at the sanctuary about later. Maybe he was whatever their equivalent of a student was, just a kid spending his free time messing with the magically uninformed. 

Deciding that it was a problem for future Harry to worry about, I headed for my room. The lock was thankfully one that took an old fashioned key, so I wouldn’t have to worry about getting locked out when my magical powers came back in full. Finally in the luxurious room, decorated with a seemingly random assortment of landscape paintings, faux gold patterned wallpaper and plenty of plush cushions, I wheeled my suitcase next to the queen-sized bed and collapsed on top of it. All the exhaustion from the flight, the drive, and the potion seemed to hit me all at once now I was behind closed doors, and I wanted nothing more than to just sleep until I got my magic back. There was of course something important I had to do first however, or I wouldn’t hear the end of it. 

“How did you enjoy the flight Bob?” I managed a chuckle as I unlocked and unzipped my suitcase, pulling out the skull, bundled up in a few shirts that I had considered comfortable. It took a few seconds, but the familiar soft orange light appeared in the sockets of the skull, and Bob let out a long groan.

“Ughh, mind doing me a favor when whatever business you have here is over Harry?”

“What’s that Bob?”

“Just FedEx me back, sure you’ll be able to afford a nice comfy box and first-class shipping after you finish whatever job this so-called sanctuary has for you.”

“We’ve been over this Bob, they probably don’t want me for a job, it’s just going to be a friendly visit.”

“Come on Harry, look at how nice your room is, you really expect them not to ask for your help on something or other?”

“Yeah, I really wish I could believe otherwise, but I’m sure they have some agenda. Who doesn’t?”

Before Bob could respond, a firm rapping came at the door and I let out a long groan, rolling out of bed and setting the skull down on the bedside table. It was as good a place as any, I’d just have to remember to put him somewhere secure before I let any hotel staff in for room cleaning. It was to protect them from him just as much as the other way around, as I honestly couldn’t be sure that Bob wouldn’t give some poor maid the fright of her life with a well-timed “Boo!”. With the skull safely out of sight to the doorway, I made my way over and opened it up.

“Ah, hello there, I believe you’re Mr. Dresden?” The tall man from the lobby, still completely covered in clothing, was waiting on the other side of my door. He spoke with a lightly accented voice, his tone smooth and calm. 

“That’s right…” I meant to ask for the man’s name in return, but I was thrown off. I hadn’t picked up on it before, but now I was up close to him I could practically feel my skin crawling. It was different to the kid from before. I had sensed magic around him when he actually used it, but with this man it was like he was just emitting magic, and it felt wrong, almost cold. Likely noticing my discomfort, the man tilted his head curiously before extending a hand.

“My name is Skulduggery Pleasant, I’m acting as something of an agent for the sanctuary at the moment and they’ve sent me over to welcome you. Would you mind if I came in?”

“Uhh, I hope you don’t mind me saying, but I like to be a little careful when it comes to inviting people in, and there’s something about you that feels…” I cast around, trying to think of a word that wouldn’t be terribly insulting. That word ended up coming from Skulduggery himself.

“Off?”

“Pretty much yeah, hard to describe but I’m used to sensing the magic around me, and what I’m getting off you is making me feel a bit uncomfortable.” I didn’t want to be rude, but I figured it was better to be honest in a situation like this. Skulduggery didn’t seem hostile, but I still wanted at least some explanation before I invited him in. The hotel room didn’t have much of a threshold compared to my apartment back home, both being rented spaces certainly didn’t help, but it would offer me some protection if any nasty things tried to pay me a visit and force their way in. 

“I would have preferred to show you this inside, but I suppose now is as good a time as any then.” Skulduggery looked either way down the hallway, making me tense up as he reached for his sunglasses and scarf, pulling them off and leaving me in a stunned state.

“I… think you’d better come in Mr. Pleasant, I’m sure my friend Bob would love to meet you... ”


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry is visited by a rather odd pair supposedly working with the Sanctuary, and finds out that the rules of magic may differ greatly from what he has been taught.

"Bob?" Skulduggery tilted his head, affording me a rather terrifying view as I saw the light from my room enter the empty eye sockets of his skull. I had seen a lot of really weird things in my career as a practicing wizard, but a fully functioning skeleton, walking and talking like any living Tom, Dick or Harry, was certainly a new one to me. 

"Yeah, he's an old friend, think your situations are probably a little different but sure you guys would have an awful lot to talk about in terms of....” I trailed off, part of me not wanting to be rude, but a far greater part of me overwhelmed with so many questions that I had all but forgotten my previous concerns.

“You mean my rather macabre mien?” 

“Mien?”

“It’s another word for appearance, I believe it’s French.”

“Then why didn’t you just say appearance?”

“Because then I would miss out on the amazing alliterative opportunity!” It was obviously hard to read his expression, but Skulduggery’s tone made it sound like I had just suggested we go out and rob a bank. I let out a sigh, stepping aside and gesturing into the room.

“Well then Skulduggery, skeletal sanctuary surrogate, I suppose you’d better come in.”

“Oh? I thought you were worried about my magic?”

“I am a little bit, but to be honest the curiosity is far outweighing the worry right about now, and I’ve never met someone trying to kill me that wasted time on alliteration.”

“Ah, well, in that case, thank you very much, Mr. Dresden, I shall do my best not to murder you while I explain our situation.” Skulduggery spoke nonchalantly as he strode past me into the room, once again leaving me unsure whether or not I should be panicking. For the time being, I decided to just roll with it. If he really was here to do me harm, I figured I could always just knock his skull off or something. Just how good could a walking skeleton be in a fist fight anyway?

“Oh, hello there. Might I say you are a rather dashing fellow?” I groaned, closing the door as I heard Bob’s voice. Skulduggery had made his way into the room, and never one to resist a good joke Bob had spoken up from his place on the bedside table. When I joined him in the room, Skulduggery just seemed to be staring at Bob. Once again, I couldn’t really read his expression, but if I had to guess I would have said he was stunned. Apparently, even as a living skeleton, there are some things that can catch you off guard.

“You… seem to have a talking skull in your room, Mr. Dresden…”

“I seem to have two actually, and please, just call me Harry.” I couldn’t help but grin. It felt like I was the one who kept getting thrown off guard since I had gotten to Ireland, so it was nice to be the one doing the surprising at least once.

“How come his eyes glow? I don’t get glowy eyes.” Skulduggery broke his silence, almost sounding jealous as he cocked his head at me. 

“Well, I suppose I’m a bit of a special case. For what it’s worth I’d gladly trade my “glowy eyes” for a hat and suit as fine as yours, however.” Bob spoke up, seeming to just take the fact that a walking and talking skeleton was now in my hotel room in stride, relatively speaking. 

“Hmm, I suppose I may be able to find a spare hat for you, but I’m afraid my tailor is somewhat indisposed at the moment.” Skulduggery sighed, turning to me.

“Really a great shame, otherwise I would offer to take you to get some clothes made too.” 

“The people over at the sanctuary don’t expect me to show up in a suit do they?” I groaned. The white council had more than a few issues, but the dress code thankfully wasn’t one of them. I was far more comfortable in my currently packed away duster and casual clothing than anything too fancy. For my brand of magic, comfort and happiness were pretty important. 

“Oh the sanctuary wouldn’t really care if you showed up in your pajamas Harry, but given the nature of your visit, I figured you may enjoy something a bit more… protective.” I frowned at this.

“Nature of my visit? Am I missing something here?” 

“Oh come on Harry, I’m sure you’re used to this kind of thing from whatever council it was you have in Chicago.” I let out a long sigh as Skulduggery spoke.

“Of course, they want me for a job?”

“Naturally, I would be over the moon if the sanctuary decided to extend an invitation purely out of kindness, but the main reason I'm paying you this visit is to warn you."

"Oh, so you're not working for the sanctuary?"

"I am, something of a problem solver for them, but really not a fan of all the politics. I thought it would be best if my partner and I visited you early, to give you a heads up about what to expect.”

“I see…” I sighed. I had really hoped just to get some rest until my magic returned to me, being accosted by a friendly talking skeleton and pulled into the local politics really wasn’t my idea of a good first day.

“Actually, I don’t suppose you mind if I bring my partner in Harry?” Skullduggery gestured at the door.

“Ah, that girl you were with in the lobby?”

“Very perceptive, I can see why the sanctuary is interested in your services.” Skulduggery nodded, walking over to the door and opening it up. Right behind the door, still standing cross-armed and with an almost bored expression on her face was the dark-haired young girl from the lobby. I was surprised she was actually working with Skulduggery, she seemed far too young for any serious line of work, especially something concerning magic. When I was her age I had just been learning about it, not actually working out in the field. Not wanting to be rude, I gave a nod in greeting, which she casually returned.

“This is Valkyrie Cain, is she alright to come in?” 

“Valkyrie Cain and Skulduggery Pleasant? Hope you don’t mind me saying but is there any particular reason you guys are giving me fake names?” I put out my hand in a welcoming sign as I spoke. It was enough for the laws of magic to allow the girl over my threshold without issue. Valkyrie closed the door behind herself and spoke up.

“He doesn’t know about names?” The girl had a stronger Irish accent than Skulduggery, tinged with just a bit of annoyance.

“What about them? I know the difference between names and Names if that’s what you mean.” I added emphasis to the latter. I understood the magical importance that came with names, having collected the true Names of a few magical beings in my years of practice. I didn’t see the need for practitioners to have fake ones, however. Unless they were facing a particularly powerful being, there wasn’t much that someone could do with the names they were born with.

“Ah yes, I was about to explain to you Harry,” Skulduggery turned to me, but then turned back to Valkyrie as if just realizing something. 

“Although maybe you could explain it Valkyrie? It would be good practice, and I want to make sure you’re actually listening to my lessons.” The skeleton spoke in a light-hearted manner, and Valkyrie rolled her eyes as if more than sick of his jokes.

“Fine, but I get to drive the Bently on the way back.”

“Alright.”

“Alright, I can drive it?”

“Alright: you can keep telling yourself that.” Valkyrie pouted in response but went on to start explaining.

“Ok, so you know how a true name gives you complete control over something or somebody?”

“Sure, I know a few myself. One fairy in particular.”

“Um… alright breezing over the fact that fairies exist and you know the true name of one, our true names are different than the ones we’re given at birth.”

“They are? So I have a different name?” This was entirely news to me. I had always been taught that our birth names were the only ones we got as humans. They were enough to allow all sorts of demons and fairies to target us.

“That’s right, it’s a name not even you will know, but if someone ever learns it they can control you absolutely, more than they could with your birth name.”

“Wait, people can’t just control me with my full name, that’s not how magic works, otherwise the world would be chaos right?”

“Definitely how it works here, it’s Harry Dresden right?”

“Yeah but what-”

“Sit down on the bed Harry Dresden.” Just like that, I found myself sitting down on the bed, I didn’t remember doing it, but it just happened. Bob, who had been unusually quiet since Valkyrie had entered, finally spoke up.

“Wow Harry, if I’d known it was that easy to get you to do stuff I would have ordered you to bring me some better reading material ages ago.” 

“H-how…” I slowly stood up, my head feeling like it was on fire. The same way I had sensed the magic of the strange boy from earlier when Valkyrie ordered me I felt the magic in the air shift towards me. It was like it had invaded my body, flooding towards my mind, making me obey. Before she answered, Valkyrie turned to Bob wide-eyed, her steely composure finally broken.

“D-did that skull just talk?” 

“Why yes I did, Bob’s the name, at your service.” I groaned. It was always horribly painful whenever Bob tried to be charming with women. Thankfully not many members of the fairer sex usually made their way down to my lab where Bob spent most of his time, reading trashy romance novels on the shelf until I came down in need of help in brewing potions or in some obscure area of magical research.

“Cliffnotes version? That’s Bob, a knowledge spirit currently possessing a skull. He’s harmless enough, just don’t let him tell you any jokes.” I explained quickly, shooting daggers at Bob. Our agreement was usually that he would stay quiet around strangers. I couldn’t blame him in the case of meeting Skulduggery, as those were rather unique circumstances, however, right now I really wanted to learn how to stop someone from controlling me. It was horribly disturbing, and if there was some way to negate it I wanted in ASAP. Valkyrie was clearly not completely satisfied by my explanation, looking between Bob and Skulduggery with an expression practically bursting with questions. She eventually just gave a shrug and kept going.

“Ok, since if I start asking questions I think we’ll be here all day, people can control you if they know your given name. Which is why we take on fake names like Valkyrie Cane and Skulduggery Pleasant.”

“I… still don’t think I get it, even if I started calling myself something like “Larry Snakeskin”, wouldn’t someone just be able to start controlling me by using my real name? I haven’t exactly kept it secret with my business and all.”

“You don’t have to worry about that, when you choose a different name for yourself, your given name becomes protected and people can’t just use it to control you.”

“H-how does that even work?” I was still having a lot of trouble accepting what I was hearing, despite the demonstration. In my defense, when you get taught the fundamental laws of magic are one way your whole life, only for those set beliefs to be utterly flipped upside down over the space of a few minutes, it was pretty hard to deal with.

"Names are power, at least here Harry." Skulduggery pitched in once again.

"There are even a lot of theories that all magical power comes from a being's true name, it helps explain why it can be so unique from person to person."

"Alright… I suppose I can wrap my head around that somewhat…" I nodded along. I wasn't sure I actually believed the wild theory, but for the time being, I didn't have much choice but to go along with it. 

"So, this taken name, it can just be literally anything I want?" I addressed my question to Skulduggery, but it was Valkyrie that spoke up.

"Pretty much, mine sort of just came to me in a moment of need and felt perfect. I'd go with something you're comfortable with, seeing as people are going to be calling you by it an awful lot."

"Can't I just change it later?"

"You can, but it's a bit of a pain, like changing your address. It's not a huge deal, but can lead to some awkward exchanges if you're not careful." Skulduggery was the one to pipe up this time.

"Alright… well, I appreciate the lesson, I'll put some thought into it." 

"Don't take too long, you're coming to meet the folks over at the Sanctuary tomorrow, would be awfully inconvenient for you if they were able to force you into accepting a job or something silly like that." Skulduggery nodded to me and gestured to Valkyrie, the two starting to head back over to the door.

"You really think they would try something like that?" I frowned, following the pair to the door. I hadn't expected them to just leave, and while I hadn't been planning for a visit I had so many questions.

"You never know, if I was in their position, it's what I would probably try." Skulduggery tipped his hat to me.

"Now, sorry to say Mr. Dresden, but my partner and I must be heading off for the time being. We've other business to attend to in the hotel, but we will be waiting for you in the lobby tomorrow morning to escort you to the Sanctuary."

"Other business?"

"Nothing you have to worry about I'm sure, the Sanctuary originally sent us here after a few reports about an unknown sorcerer supposedly abusing his powers, meeting with you wasn’t strictly part of our assignment.” Skulduggery extended a gloved hand and I shook it cautiously. I couldn’t help but picture his hand coming away in mine if I gripped it too firmly, despite how stable the rest of him seemed to be.

"Well, I really appreciate it, suppose I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Unless you have any more questions yes, we should really be on our-"

"Why are you a skeleton?" I blurted it out with as much grace and tact as a rhino dancing the nutcracker. I had been looking for a polite spot to slip the question into the conversation, but it felt like asking someone how they lost an arm or a leg. I knew I had to ask though, otherwise, I would do nothing but wonder about it until I did. Valkyrie almost immediately started to laugh at the question.

"It really took you this long?"

"I mean, I didn't want to be rude, Ireland seems like a crazy enough place that I thought maybe it was…"

"Normal?" Skulduggery chuckled and I nodded.

"Well Harry, I have a feeling we'll be seeing quite a lot of each other in the coming days, I’m sure I’ll have the chance to explain it to you some time. I’ll warn you though, I’m not entirely sure of it myself.”

“Sure thing.” I extended my hand to Valkyrie as well, who looked somewhat surprised but shook it all the same. 

“Maybe you can teach me some more about the way things work around here if you’re not too busy some time.” I smiled at Valkyrie, who returned it with a smirk. I could tell she was probably used to people paying more attention to Skulduggery than her due to his appearance and obvious experience, and I had guessed she would appreciate me asking to learn from her. It had clearly paid off, and I had won more than a few brownie points there. It helped that I also genuinely would need to learn all that I could if the Sanctuary really did mean to hire me for a job. The rules were so different here, and I knew from experience that not understanding the rules of magic properly was a fine way to get yourself killed.

After we said our final farewells, I went back to the bed, collapsing onto the comfortable material once more. The pair had given me a lot to think about, including the task of coming up with a new name. It was quite a bit of pressure, knowing that if I failed to come up with one the Sanctuary may be able to mind control me into accepting some potentially deadly job or task, but I figured I would sleep on it and come up with something in the morning. The last thing I wanted to do was let my sleep-deprived brain come up with something painful that I would end up stuck with, or god forgive, a pun.


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having chosen his new name, Harry heads to the sanctuary with Skulduggery and Valkyrie.

"Is that really what you're going with Harry?" Bob groaned as I slid my duster on, grinning like a madman. While I had been asleep, the effects of the potion had worn off and I woke up feeling better than ever. Before, I had been able to sense the magic in the air around me, but it was like there was a thick barrier between myself and it. Now the barrier was gone, and I was able to feel the magical currents everywhere. I was somewhat nervous to try it, but I felt like I could probably direct magic without a focus in conditions like this. I would normally have to use my special staff, carved with a variety of runes to help me direct and disrupt the flow of magical energy in the air; but now it was almost like I was the staff. I wasn’t sure if this was what the Irish sorcerers like Skulduggery and Valkyrie felt all the time, but I liked it. All the possibilities at my fingertips, it was invigorating but scary at the same time. I had been in the business long enough to be cautious at the idea of power without a cost. 

“You got any better ideas Bob? I thought it was pretty clever given I came up with it overnight.” Bob went silent for a few long seconds, letting me know he was just as empty headed as the hollow skull would imply in terms of names.

“Ok, so maybe I don’t have something original right now, but isn’t this something you’ll just be stuck with forever?”

“I guess, but I’m not too worried Bob, it just feels… right?”

“Are you asking me or telling me Harry?”

“Depends, are you going to stop giving me a hard time about it?”

“Look, I just think you have a real opportunity here to…”

“Make a name for myself?”

“Hey I was trying to avoid saying that, but pretty much yeah.”

“I will be making a name for myself Bob, I’d prefer to do that with my actions though, not just a fancy name.”

“I’m not saying it has to be particularly fancy, just maybe something with a bit more mystique, you know? Something not quite so on the nose.”

“Why would I need mystique? I’m a pretty straight forward guy, think my name should reflect that.”

“I suppose…” Bob was sounding more and more defeated as the conversation went on.

“I just wish it wasn’t so…”

“Punny?” This brought another groan from Bob as I checked over the pockets of my duster. I hadn’t loaded them with anything that could be outright considered a weapon, but I never went anywhere without a couple of magical trinkets up my sleeves. Sure, it was unlikely that I would be forced to deal with any ghosts or black court vampires on my trip to the sanctuary, but didn't hurt to be safe and pack a vial of silver water and some iron shavings anyway.

"Yes, is the pun really needed Harry?"

"I like it, and hey, doesn't seem to be an issue looking at a name like "Skulduggery Pleasant" right?"

"Come on Harry, you can't be sure he didn't have that name before his… current condition."

"Reminds me, need to take the guy out for a drink and get the full story about that soon."

"Yeah, just make sure to order a mop too if you do." Bob chuckled and it was my turn to groan.

Having finished dressing up in my fanciest old rock band t-shirt and finest denim jeans, I said goodbye to Bob and headed out of the room, making sure to slip the “Do Not Disturb” sign onto the door. I could always clean my own room, and didn’t really want to risk any unlucky maid coming across some of my stranger magical paraphernalia, or worse, Bob. With that done, I headed off to the lobby to catch another cab that would take me to The Sanctuary; this time purposefully avoiding the elevators. I wasn’t exactly out of shape, but the trip down from the eighth floor would be enough to leave most people out of breath. I had to take a bit of a breather about halfway down; but past that I was fine. In the lobby, I thought I saw the familiar figure of the young boy I had met in the hallway yesterday watching me from over by the bar, but he had disappeared by the time I did a double take. For the time being I figured he was probably harmless, but I made a mental note to keep an eye out. If he was really a rogue practitioner of the arts, he was a powerful one. That’s the only explanation I could think of for someone mastering an art like teleportation at such a young age.

It was something I would have personally loved to have picked up, would have saved me a lot of time and money keeping the Blue Beetle in a barely functional state. It also would have saved me from awkwardly walking by Skulduggery and Valkyrie, only to have the former casually tap me on the shoulder. 

"Everything alright there Harry?" Skulduggery spoke in his smooth, professional tone as I jumped in surprise, whirling around to face him and Valkyrie.

"Oh, sorry about that, thought I saw someone is all."

"You probably did, plenty of people down here after all, I hear the complimentary breakfast is rather lovely."

"Oh, do you suppose we have time for me to-"

"Nope, not if you want to meet with The Sanctuary on time."

"Ah…" I grumbled to myself quietly as the well-disguised skeleton and his young partner lead me out the front doors of the hotel, around to the car park and into a shockingly nice car. I didn't know much about cars, but it was clearly well looked after and very English in make. It looked like the sort of vehicle a butler may drive their employer around in.

"I don't suppose they have any food at the sanctuary?" I asked Valkyrie as we both slid into the back of the car.

"Huh, I guess they must have somewhere, but I've never seen a coffee shop or anything…" Valkyrie seemed puzzled at the question, we both looked forward to Skulduggery.

"I don't know why you're both looking at me, surprisingly enough they've never offered me lunch."

I tried to stifle a grin, and failed terribly. Looking over at Valkyrie, I saw she was having the same problem. Although I couldn't make out Skulduggery's face at all (Not that it would have mattered even if I could.), I got the feeling he was enjoying himself too from his tone. 

"Guess I'll have to grab something afterwards, know any good places nearby?" I directed this question to Valkyrie, for obvious reasons.

"There's a fish and chip place around the corner that's pretty cheap. Do a lovely battered sausage."

"You mean like a corn dog?"

"I guess? Never had one of those myself, think they're pretty much the same thing though."

"Well, may as well get used to the local delicacies I suppose, especially since it's coming so highly recommended." Valkyrie laughed as I looked out the window. Ireland really was quite a pretty place when I got to look at it through untired eyes. It was very different from Chicago, less people on the streets and far less cars. Everything just felt calmer in general, despite the overwhelming feeling of magic that was in the air. I didn't think I would ever leave Chicago, but if I had to pick a nice place to retire someday Dublin would definitely land pretty high on my list from what I had seen so far. Seeing that I was busy taking in my surroundings, neither Skulduggery or Valkyrie spoke to me until the car slowed down about twenty minutes later.

"We're here." Said Skulduggery, killing the engine as he opened up his door.

"The Sanctuary hides out in a wax work museum?" I jokingly said, undoing my seat belt and climbing out of the car, looking at the rather dishevelled building before us.

"Nailed it in one." Valkyrie shot me a grin, having emerged from the car on the other side.

The building was in a much emptier part of Dublin than we had been driving through earlier on. Multiple shut down businesses lined the street, and there hardly seemed to be anyone walking by except for a few figures down a nearby alley. I had to squint to make them out, and even then I couldn’t really make out much about them. It was like my vision was blurred, but only around the figures in question. I stood there staring as Skulduggery and Valkyrie headed for the doors of the building that supposedly housed The Sanctuary. It was Valkyrie who finally noticed that I was still standing by the car.

“Hey, you coming or what?” 

“Yeah, just some weird looking guys down that alley…” I trailed off as I pointed, the figures in the alley starting to walk out into the street. As I looked closer though, walk really wasn’t the right word for it. They didn’t walk so much as shamble, as if their feet were as heavy as bricks. This wasn’t nearly the strangest thing about them though, that would have to be their actual bodies, or lack thereof. The reason I had such trouble actually making out their forms, was that they didn’t have strictly solid ones. Their skin was strange and torn, full of holes that caused it to float and drift about. Through these holes, a strange green gas seemed to be flooding out, slowly polluting the air around them. In some places, it seemed like their skin had come away entirely, and I could see right through them to the swirling gas within.

“Skulduggery!” Valkyrie called out, immediately moving into action while I remained stunned and horrified at the strange people, if you could even call them that. In a literal blink of an eye, suddenly Valkyrie’s hands were filled with flames, and within a few seconds she had sent the red hot substance flying down the street. The twin fireballs hit two of the creatures dead on, igniting their strange purple paper-like skin and the gas within. Just as quickly as they had emerged from the alley, the creatures seemed to collapse inwards on themselves. Nothing was left of them but a pile of smoldering scraps, which two more of the creatures swiftly stomped on as they headed towards us.

“Hell’s bells, what are those things?” I started patting down my pockets, looking for something I could use as a weapon. Without knowing the exact nature of the creatures however, using one of my assorted trinkets would be most likely useless unless I got lucky.

“Hollow men, vile creatures made of paper, bloated with stink and evil!” Skulduggery growled, reaching into his jacket pocket for something, then seeming to decide against it. The living skeleton instead followed Valkyrie’s lead, fire igniting in his gloved hands as he threw it at the hollow men. Two more shots that landed perfectly and incinerated their intended targets.

“Fire works a treat if you have any, just don’t let them surround you!” Skulduggery called the advice as he took down another pair of hollow men with expertly controlled orbs of flame, Valkyrie sending two more of her own into the chest and head of another. They were falling fast, but more and more were flooding out of the alleyway, and now three were headed right for me. I looked around for a weapon, but there was nothing unless I wanted to try my chances with an empty can of soda lying on the street. For a second I felt immense regret that I didn’t have my staff, then I felt like an idiot. Skulduggery and Valkyrie didn’t seem to need any foci for their own evocational looking magic, why should I? I took a deep breath, calling to the magical energies in the air around me. At first they didn’t seem to respond, but with a little mental effort they flowed through me.

“FUEGO!” I yelled out the latin phrase, and recoiled in surprise as an enormous pillar of flame erupted from my outstretched hand. It wasn’t subtle or controlled like the fire throwing Skulduggery and Valkyrie seemed to be doing was, it was more akin to a dragon unleashing a torrent of uncontrollable flame, an attack designed to solve all immediate problems by reducing them to ash. The hollow men didn’t stand a chance, they didn’t even have time to react before the red hot stream of flames overcame them all. The three in front of me were cinders in an instant, the ones behind them quickly following. I didn’t even get a chance to see the full devastation of my spell as I was caught so off guard that I instinctively shielded my face with my free arm. Thankfully, just as quickly as the flames had burst into existence, they were gone. The only remaining traces being a couple of smouldering piles of paper scraps that had miraculously survived the inferno I had brought forth. It seemed like my spell had not only dealt with those in front of me, but the last of the hollow men that had been emerging from the alleyway as well. From the way the red brick walls of the alley were scorched black, I was fairly certain no more would be emerging anytime soon.

“So… I’m guessing you’re an elemental?” Valkyrie looked at me wide eyed, mouth hanging open slightly. She didn’t even seem to notice that she was still holding a palmful of fire in one hand. Skulduggery also seemed to be staring at me for a few long moments, but he quickly regained his composure, turning back to the scene of the fight and splaying both hands. I wasn’t sure what he was doing, but I could sense magic shifting in the air, and I soon noticed that the small fires were being put out one by one. 

“An elemental?”

“Your chosen school of magic? Skulduggery and I are both elementals, hence the fire and the air he’s using to put out your leftovers…”

“Oh, I guess you could call me that? I call it evocation, generally channeling my will and throwing a lot of energy around to control elements. Not my only school though, I dabble in a lot of other stuff.” Valkyrie didn’t seem satisfied with my explanation, but at the moment there were bigger concerns at hand. She called out to Skulduggery, who had slinked over to the alleyway cautiously, hand once again in his jacket pocket.

“Any more of them?”

“Doesn’t seem to be, but who placed them here? Hollow men don’t just randomly turn up in Dublin alleyways.” Skulduggery suddenly turned to the entrance of the sanctuary, and I followed his gaze, my eyes going wide as I quickly forgot about the terrible danger I had just been in. Standing just outside the doors leading into the dilapidated building, was a woman. Tall, blonde, curvy, and carrying an honest to goodness sword in one hand as she seemingly watched us fight with interest. I was so caught off guard by the sudden appearance of the beautiful woman, I didn't even consider she may have been part of the attack. Thankfully, it seemed Skulduggery and Valkyrie knew her.

"Tanith!" Valkyrie excitedly ran over, the woman grinning and stowing her sword at her side as she pulled the younger girl into a hug.

"Hey there Val, heard the commotion and figured I'd head out to lend a hand, not that you guys needed it." The woman, Tanith I had to assume, looked up and down the street after the hug.

"Seems like we're in the clear for now, I'd much rather get inside though. Starting to feel a bit exposed out here." Skulduggery murmured. He had a fair point, even if no further attack was currently coming, we were still standing around in broad daylight having just thrown a bunch of fire around. It was a miracle nobody had actually been there to see it. 

"Hmm, pretty weird this street just happened to be empty for the attack…" I did my thinking out loud as I headed over to Valkyrie, Tanith and Skulduggery, ready to head inside.

"Ah, you must be that wizard-for-hire guy right?" Tanith turned to me, extending a hand. It was embarrassing but I almost didn't shake it, her appearance was… distracting to say the least. 

“Tanith Lowe, something of a freelancer at the moment, but doing some work to help the sanctuary."

"Malcolm. Malcolm Tent. Freelance wizard for hire, also most likely here to help the sanctuary with something or another." I grinned as I shook Tanith's hand, Skulduggery and Valkyrie both giving me interested looks. I was originally planning on waiting until I met with whoever was in charge of things, but I couldn't just leave such a beautiful woman hanging without giving her my new name.


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry enters the sanctuary in the aftermath of the fight, and learns why he was summoned to Ireland.

"Malcolm Tent eh?" Tanith grinned. Her accent seemed to me like a more traditional London one, something I could vaguely recognise from TV and movies. I hadn’t noticed at first since I had likely been distracted by her other features, but it was far more obvious to me now that I had reigned in the caveman side of my brain.

"Yep, thought it was pretty fitting, my own council has been calling me a malcontent for years anyway, may as well embrace it."

“Gotta say, that’s something I can definitely understand.” Tanith nodded, casually scanning up and down the street with a hand on the sword at her side as she spoke. 

"Ah, do you not get along too well with the Sanctuary then?”

“We used to, grand mages and I got along just fine when I first showed up for the most part.”

“Do you mind if I ask what happened?”

“Oh, they all died. Guy named Thurid Guild is running the place these days, not too fond of me. Not too fond of any of us to be honest.”

“Oh…” I wasn’t too sure how to respond to that, but thankfully I didn’t have to as Skulduggery and Valkyrie approached us, presumably having checked the alleyway and deemed it safe.

“No sign of any more, or whoever brought them here.” Skulduggery adjusted his hat and dusted down his suit. None of the so-called “Hollow Men” had gotten close enough to even scratch him, but he had more than a few specks of ash from where I had gone a bit overboard with my magic. In my defense, I couldn’t have expected such explosive results from the spell. I had expected something, but nothing quite so powerful, especially without a focus. I couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if I had actually brought and used my staff for the same spell. Would it have been even more powerful? Or was part of the reason the effect had been so extreme that the spell was being cast directly through me? I would have to start doing a lot of research to understand these new rules of magic as soon as possible. Hopefully Bob would be of help with that.

“So uhhh… what actually were those things?” I peered down the street at the piles of ash I had helped create.

“Hollow men, basically just cheap and nasty foot soldiers. Not intelligent, but can follow basic orders.” Stephanie nodded to Tanith, who opened her arms for a hug. Stephanie seemed slightly embarrassed, but still embraced the older woman. 

“Not too dangerous unless they swarm you. Will be nearly impossible to track down who actually sent them though.” Skulduggery was still carefully monitoring each side of the street. 

“Why’s that?” I didn’t like having to be the one constantly asking questions, but I needed to learn as much as I could as quickly as I could. Dying because I missed out on a piece of vital info that I had simply felt too embarrassed to ask about was far from my idea of a good time.

“They’re not exactly hard to get a hold of, almost anyone with any kind of connections could easily get hold of a couple like these. Quick and easy to make as they are to kill thanks to those ever so convenient flammable gases.” Skulduggery answered calmly. I was glad to see that he didn’t seem to mind answering my questions, if anything he just seemed used to it.

"So there's just no way we can track down whoever sent them?"

"There will be no need for that, Mr. Dresden." I almost jumped out of my skin at the new voice, as did Tanith and Valkyrie. Skulduggery barely reacted, as he likely had already noticed that the figure had emerged from the old wax work museum and recognised them as a non-threat.

"Guild, I hope you're not implying what I think you are." Skulduggery didn't sound angry, but there was definitely an edge to his tone that hadn't been there before as he spoke. The person who had emerged from the museum, an old looking man with thinning grey hair, gave Skulduggery a disapproving look before turning to me.

"I apologize for the rudeness of Mr. Pleasant. I am Thurid Guild, grand mage of the Sanctuary. It was by my request that you were invited." Guild extended a hand and I took it hesitantly. Skulduggery, Valkyrie and even Tanith had all seemed to tense up around the man, which in turn had me on edge. He didn’t look too threatening, but I knew the others wouldn’t be acting skittish without good reason. I needed to tread carefully.

“Pleasure to meet you, grand mage.” I did my best to straighten up and act professional. I didn’t look Guild in the eyes however. Last thing I needed was to start an already awkward meeting off with a full on soul gaze. 

“I apologise for the stray hollow men, we were moving some into the Sanctuary for security reasons and a small group got loose in transit. Since no harm was done, and the hollow men have been disposed of, I suggest we all move inside and continue with our planned meeting.” Guild seemed so calm about the whole thing, just matter of fact. I knew something was wrong, and so did Skulduggery, Tanith and Valkyrie. Tanith was the one who actually spoke up first though.

“Do you honestly expect anyone here to believe that you just so happened to be moving hollow men into the Sanctuary in broad daylight, and some just happened to escape and remained right next to the entrance? I know you’re sloppy Guild, but nobody is quite that lazy.” Tanith had her hands on her hips in a challenging pose. The grand mage turned to her calmly, not showing any signs of anger.

“And just what are you accusing me of Ms. Lowe? I’d hope you have proof if you’re trying to say I was trying to kill you.”

“No, if you were trying to kill us even you would do a better job than a couple of hollow men Guild, this was fairly blatantly a test for our friend from Chicago here.” Skulduggery spoke up. I was surprised at just how frequently the group was insulting Guild. If I tried the same with some of the wizards on the white council I probably wouldn’t have survived long. Once I started to see what Tanith and Skulduggery were saying however, even I felt like insulting the old man.

“You put those things out here just to see what I could do?” I tried not to sound too accusing, my tone was definitely unhappy when I spoke. Guild was starting to get flustered now, accused on three sides. Even Valkyrie looked like she was about to jump in.

“Now listen here, I would strongly recommend nobody jump to any-”

“What if some regular family just happened to wander by and get jumped by those things? You’d be willing to spill innocent blood just to see how I could handle myself in a fight?” The entire group looked surprised as I spoke. I don’t think any of them actually expected me to speak up like that to Guild. I was supposed to be here in a diplomatic role after all, which I supposed meant I was supposed to be on my best behaviour. However, it was plain as day that this was no diplomatic mission of peace. Something shady was going on, and I wasn’t going to just let it happen. I was going to show Guild that I was more than willing to call him out.

“How about we just cut the bull right here and now Guild. I’m here now, you have at least some idea of what I can do after your stupid little test, what’s the job?” There was a long silence after I spoke. Guild’s expression remained calm but I could tell he was deep in thought, likely about how much he should actually reveal and how he should respond to this show of disrespect. Eventually he let out a long sigh and spoke.

“Very well, I had hoped to avoid our first encounter going this way, but I can see that Mr. Pleasant and Ms. Lowe have already poisoned your perception of me, so I will drop all pretense and courtesy. As cliche as I know it sounds, I believe that Ireland, and the rest of the world, may be in grave danger.” Guild looked up and down the street as he spoke, seemingly uncomfortable for the first time since he appeared.

“I know you likely don’t trust me after this little incident, but I would much prefer to explain this inside. I'll confess that I don't fully understand the scope of the threat that we are dealing with; but we are aware it is immensely dangerous.”

“More dangerous than Serpine or Vengeous?” Valkyrie spoke up, now looking somewhat worried. 

“If what some of the Sanctuary scholars are saying is correct, perhaps infinitely so.” Guild nodded, his expression grave.

“Fine, let’s get inside then. But this isn’t the last we’ll be talking of your so-called test.” I reluctantly gave in, following Guild into the building and through a strange passage that seemed to have been hidden in one of the walls. Looking back, I noticed Skulduggery and Tanith exchanging a few hushed words and paused. I didn’t really want to spy on the people that I hoped to become friends with during my visit, but I really needed to know who I could rely on here. Especially if Guild’s claims were even the slightest bit accurate. After making sure nobody had noticed me lingering in front of the passage, I focused on the pair and started to Listen. 

“-spotted anything like he’s saying?” I caught the end of a sentence from Skulduggery, his words clear despite the whispered growl he spoke them with.

"Not personally, have a few friends that day they've been seeing some real wild stuff though…" Tanith responded.

“Like what?” 

“Like stuff we’ve never seen before. Someone I know said they’ve been seeing all sorts of weird creatures, individuals with special powers.”

“What kind of creatures?”

“Hard to say, monster hunters do love to talk up their adventures a fair bit, but someone I met with last week swears she got attacked by a bunch of giant scorpions while out on a job.”

“Do you believe her?”

“She had the sting marks to prove it, no bodies though.”

“No bodies?”

“Apparently they all turned to dust or something when she managed to kill them, was real disappointed about it, apparently wanted a trophy.” Skulduggery and Tanith both stayed silent for a few seconds after this, likely considering just what they could be dealing with. I didn’t really know what to make of it. Giant scorpions weren’t strictly out of my league. I had dealt with one fairly recently and hoped I would never have to again. Overall, my little Listening session just left me more concerned than before. For the time being, I would just have to move forward under the assumption that I could trust the rather odd group of individuals I had found myself quickly surrounded by. I would have liked a bit more trust to be built up before having to trust them, but Skulduggery and Valkyrie having my back in the fight earlier would have to do. To be fair, it was as good a start to a friendship as any. At least I knew they probably didn’t want me dead just yet. Probably.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The interior of the Sanctuary was surprisingly nice, but I didn’t really get enough time to take in much more than the occasional glimpse of something that I wanted to investigate further. Strange people, strange objects and strange feelings were all over the place. It was so incredibly tempting to stray off from the others and sneak a closer look, but the intimidating scythe-wielding figured in grey uniforms all over the place helped me to keep those temptations in line. When Valkyrie saw me eyeing them nervously, she leaned over and whispered a quick explanation.

“Cleavers, highly trained security for the Sanctuary. Do not want to mess with them.”

“Not planning on it, good job they’re on our side right?”

“Well, on Guild’s side at least.” 

I didn’t like the implication there at all, but didn’t have time to dwell on it too much as we reached our destination. I was almost disappointed when our small group entered Guild's office. It had a few objects of interest and old looking books scattered around, but nothing that stood out more than the majority of the things I had seen basically being rushed through the Sanctuary. I would have to remember to ask for a tour later, preferably when lives weren’t in danger. Guild waited for us all to be seated, Tanith and Skulduggery seeming to do so reluctantly, before he started to talk.

“Now, firstly I would like to offer an apology for what happened outside. I promise you, my intentions were fully focused on the security of those inside the Sanctuary.” I started to speak up at this but Guild made a silencing gesture with one hand and kept speaking.

“You are a foreign agent here Mr. Dresden, and we are not sure just what you are capable of or what ulterior motives you may hold towards us. Ireland is a cradle of magic, and that makes us a highly valuable target to other mages around the globe. Your own council would certainly not be the first to try and claim us for their own, nor would they be the last if they tried.”

“Alright, I suppose there’s not much point in me telling you I’m just here for diplomatic reasons, so I won’t bother. If you want to keep an eye on me, fine. But if you try anything like you did outside again, we’re going to have a problem.” I managed to stay calm as I spoke, not wanting to escalate things any further. I could understand the need for security, and thinking about it I wouldn’t put something like that past the White Council either. It still wasn’t something I wanted to happen again though. It was needlessly dangerous.

“Very well. I will take what you say in consideration. Mr. Dres-”

“Actually, it’s Malcolm.” I interrupted Guild, who seemed surprised. He started to speak but this time I cut him off. It wasn’t polite, but I wanted to show him I wasn’t just going to be walked over.

“Malcolm Tent. That’s what you can refer to me as from now on.” Guild took a long moment, his eyes flitting between myself, Skulduggery, Valkyrie and Tanith. I didn’t know if he had intended to try and use my real name against me, but it was a problem I was all too happy to not have to worry about.

“Very well Mr. Tent, now I believe we should cut right to the matters at hand.” Guild reached into a drawer of his desk as Skulduggery chuckled, clearly approving of my standing up for myself and Guild’s subtly surprised reaction. Guild gave him a harsh scowl as he spread out a few documents. I noticed there were pictures and symbols interspersed throughout.

“Recently, there have been a worrying number of alarming magical incidents occurring not only in Ireland, but around the world.” The mood in the room seemed to drop at these words. Everyone became more focused, even Skulduggery leaning forwards to get a good look at the documents.

"Strange monsters have been popping up seemingly at random worldwide, with a large concentration here in Ireland." Guild spread out an array of blurry photographs. Magical things didn't like to show up in pictures, and they actively messed with technology. Most of the photographs were blurry, but what I was able to make out worried me.

"I-is that a minotaur?" I went wide-eyed, pointing at one of the less blurry pictures. I figured I must just be seeing things, but the creature truly did seem to resemble the monster of Greek legend. I half expected guild to laugh or mock me for my comment, but his expression remained deadly serious.

"It seems to be. Appeared in America not long ago, caused quite a lot of chaos before their local Sanctuary agents were able to take it down. Strangely enough none of the humans seemed to notice it though…" Guild pointed to another picture, this time seemingly of an extremely well-muscled man riding a motorcycle.

"It's not just monsters either, individuals with strange magical powers have been appearing all around the world. Just a few days ago, this man appeared in London riding through the streets. Wherever he went, fights broke out, even between some of our local mages. It was chaos and we barely managed to cover it up as football fans angry their team lost. 

"What happened to the biker?" Valkyrie piped up.

"Gone, seemed to just vanish into thin air without a trace." 

“So what do we think this is? Some kind of magical terrorist group?” Skulduggery spoke next, picking up one of the pictures with a gloved hand to get a closer look.

“We honestly have no earthly idea.” Guild looked at all of his visitors, before his eyes eventually settled on me. 

“That’s why we called you in, Mr. Tent. We want you to help us find out, and deal with this threat before it gets out of hand.”


	5. Chapter Five

Walking out of the sanctuary, we were all deathly quiet. Guild had finished off the meeting by giving us a few more details such as the more local locations that monsters and strange individuals had been showing up in. At the moment, Ireland had about fifteen strange events that had occurred in seemingly random locations around the relatively small country. Most seemed to be around the outskirts, but more than a few were in populated areas. I really didn’t like that. As you could probably tell by this point, I have a sort of major issue when it comes to innocents being harmed by the magical. It just wasn’t fair. It would be like if an alien dropped out of the sky and just vaporised me out of nowhere with some kind of ray gun. 

There would be pretty much nothing I could do to stop my death, I wouldn’t even understand it. I would just be dead and that would be all. I of course knew that death couldn’t always be a fair thing. Hell, I had seen plenty of unfair deaths in my line of work as it was, but I could at least try and make sure the number of unfair deaths caused by magical forces. Leave the unfair deaths caused by things like cancer and alien attacks to doctors and scientists, the minotaur and giant scorpion attacks were down to people like myself and my new allies. 

“So, where to?” I was the first to break the silence as we arrived back at Skulduggery’s car.

“We need information, few places we could go for that but not sure how much time we have…” Skulduggery didn’t stop moving as he spoke, opening the door on the driver side and starting to climb in as he gave Valkyrie a nod.

“We have a... friend with a library, more of a private collection really, if they don’t have what we need they should definitely know where we can find it at the very least.” Valkyrie picked up where Skulduggery left off, waving over to Tanith before opening the front car door on her side and sliding in. I looked to Tanith, who I now noticed was starting to stroll down the street, presumably headed for the motorcycle that I could see parked just at the corner. It was sleek, smooth and looked powerful, just like the owner.

“You’re not coming with us?” I called after Tanith, trying to keep the obvious disappointment out of my tone as I watched her pull a black helmet off the bike. Tanith looked back to me, holding the helmet in one hand and tying back her hair with the other, shooting me a grin and a wink. 

“Oh I wouldn’t worry Malcolm, I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other around plenty while we deal with this mess.” Tanith called back as she mounted her bike. The vehicle purred to life and sped away past us at a frightening speed, giving me one last brief glance of Tanith from behind before she quite literally left me in the dust. 

I just stood there in stunned silence for a few long moments. Now that they were on an official job, Skulduggery, Tanith and Valkyrie were all scarily efficient. They barely had to communicate to all know what they were doing. They all had their roles in the team, and I couldn’t help but feel a little awkward being the only one without a clue as to what I was really doing. The people around me seemed to be working like a well-oiled machine, and I was just still trying to figure things out. I decided that I may as well try to even the playing field a little bit. If I couldn't offer much of use myself, maybe Bob could.

It took a little convincing, but eventually Skulduggery decided that having an extra magical font of knowledge along for the ride couldn't hurt. Valkyrie even seemed quite excited to have him along for the ride, no doubt she had plenty of questions to ask him. It was with her help that Skulduggery finally relented to picking him up in the end.

“Just make sure to keep a tight grip on him when we get there." Skulduggery warned me as I slid back into the car, having retrieved Bob in a small leather bag that I usually used to carry around a variety of my tools and trinkets. Once again, Bob wasn't too happy, but I couldn't exactly walk around in broad daylight waving a skull around. Not without drawing some very funny glances or having people think I was some kind of "Shakespeare in the park" wannabe. 

"Why? Lot of thieves where we're heading?" I frowned. They had made the place sound like a sort of magical library, surely such a place would be safe, or it would be a pretty lousy location for us to conduct whatever research we needed.

"It's not so much that I'm worried about him being stolen." Skulduggery sighed.

"Then what?"

"Well, part of me is worried you'll end up just handing him over, and part of me is worried he'll start begging you to do just that."

"What, so we're dealing with some kind of siren or something?" I couldn't help but grin. 

"We might as well be yeah." Valkyrie rolled her eyes. I was about to ask for more details, when Bob piped up.

"You know Har- Malcolm, I've been thinking, shouldn't I get a fancy codename of my own?" 

"You're kidding me right Bob? Pretty sure nobody is going to be able to compel you to do anything. Bob isn't even your name anyway." I caught Valkyrie smirking as I scowled at the skull now sitting in my lap. 

"Oh I don't know, I just think it could be fun is all. Bob is great and all, but what if I went with something more mysterious? Make a real impression on the ladies." At this I groaned.

"You don't think being a talking skull is enough to make an impression already?" 

"I mean that used to be enough, but now I'm not the only talking skull in town Harry!" I heard Skulduggery chuckle from the front seat at this.

"Aren't the glowy eyes enough for you to make a unique enough impression?" I sighed. 

"Hmmm, maybe. I guess we'll have to just test it. If the ladies aren't adequately impressed, I'm changing my name though." 

"Sure Bob, whatever you want." I groaned. There were much more dire things going on than worrying about making a good impression on the opposite sex, but I couldn't help start thinking about Tanith again. I blamed Bob and his constant obsession with romance and sex, but part of me knew I would likely still be thinking of the leather-clad lioness regardless.

"Soooo… what's Tanith off doing?" I tried to ask casually, but from the knowing look on Valkyrie's face I could tell I was going to have to try and dial back my eagerness a bit. 

"What she does best, hunting monsters, protecting the public from things they'll sleep better at night thinking don't exist." Valkyrie said it so casually, I couldn't help but be a little stunned. I had run into my fair share of nasties, and more often than not rarely escaped with my life. To hunt monsters for a living? Facing the real possibility of death on a regular basis to protect the public? It was something I could highly respect, despite not knowing if it was something I could ever do myself. 

"So, she's basically a hero then?" I tried to play it off jokingly. I think I did a pretty good job hiding my rather blatant infatuation.

"Pretty much, guess it's fitting with all the monsters showing up right?"

"How do you mean?"

"Come on Malcolm, you must have read some of those old Greek legends at some point right? The minotaur, harpies and cyclopes? Think everyone has at least heard of those, not to mention the heroes like Hercules." 

"I mean yeah, never actually expected any of them to be real though, still not sure really. Could just be some kind of creatures that can copy the legends. Maybe a Tulpa?"

"What's a Tulpa?" Valkyrie frowned. I was about to answer, happy to show off my own unique branch of magical knowledge, when Bob spoke up for me.

"A Tulpa is a creature born of thought. If something is common enough within the public consciousness, like these legendary stories and myths, sometimes the mental energy can come together to create something real."

"That can really happen?" 

"It's rare, but it can happen. It's usually something minor though, like some internet horror story gone out of control, not a whole zoo-worth of mythical creatures." Bob continued his explanation, both Valkyrie and I deeply interested. I had never actually dealt with a Tulpa myself, but Bob had been around an awful lot longer than me. I would have only been able to give the basics on the phenomena, whereas Bob had probably helped numerous wizards deal with them in the past.

"I'd like to hope it's just a freak Tulpa or something of the sort…" Skulduggery spoke up. He had such an authoritative tone, we all immediately fell silent as soon as he started talking. 

"The alternative is something I really don't know how we could deal with, even with multiple organisations like the sanctuary and council working together."

"The alternative? The monsters are definitely bad, but surely we can handle them when and where they pop up right?" Valkyrie was starting to sound concerned, and I was right there with her. 

"The monsters? Sure. They'll be tricky, especially if they keep appearing as frequently as they are right now, but we've had to deal with worse, it's nothing compared to the war…" I wanted to interrupt and ask more at the mention of a war, but I didn't dare. I had an inkling at what Skulduggery was suggesting, and it was making my blood run cold.

"If the monsters are real, what if the gods are too?" Skulduggery voiced what I had been thinking. The tension in the Bentley was thick enough to cut with a knife. Not even Bob was willing to crack a joke as the gravity of the situation set in on us. It made for a very uncomfortable journey, but I think we were all very relieved when we finally reached our destination. The hope of some good old arcane knowledge being able to save the day was always something I personally fell back on in times of desperate need.

"Now Malcolm, we really should warn you..." Skulduggery put a firm, gloved hand on my shoulder as I looked up at the plain brick building before us. To me, it looked like an entirely bland apartment building, but I was wise enough to know not to take things like that at first glance by now.

"And you too actually Bob, China Sorrows has a way with people, you probably won't be able to resist her when you first meet her, but we'll be here to stop you from making any silly mistakes or making too big a fool of yourselves." 

"Don't write me off right away, I know Bob has a tendency to fall head over… head for women, but I like to think I have a lot more control." I was starting to feel a little defensive. I didn't like the implication that I wouldn't be able to handle myself around a beautiful and charming woman, but I figured that like the building, there would be far more to things.

"Thanks for the warning though, I'll try to be careful around her. I'm guessing I'll know her when I see her?" Skulduggery and Valkyrie seemed to exchange a glance as I said this, before they both turned back to me and nodded.

"Yeah, she's pretty hard to miss." Valkyrie winced.

"Alright then, let's get this over with so we can get to the research." I sighed, heading for the door of the building. I was starting to understand the drill by now. The best way for me to get used to the strange new magic Ireland seemed so full of was to be exposed to it, take my lumps and learn my lesson. I wasn't particularly looking forward to having myself made a fool out of, but worse things could happen, at least I was going in prepared. That's what I thought at least. No matter how much Skulduggery and Valkyrie tried to warn me, I don't think anything could have truly readied me for the otherworldly beauty that was China Sorrows.

As soon as we reached the second floor of the building, she was there. A divine dark angel, awaiting us with her slender, powerful arms folded across her less-than-subtle chest. All thoughts of trying not to stare and not making a fool of myself had almost immediately evacuated my mind. Before I really knew what I was doing, I had gone down to one knee, my head bowed in a sign of respect and my willing devotion. It definitely helped when Skulduggery gave me a gentle smack on the back of my head, but my mind was still foggy and when I tried to talk all I managed was a jumble of words.

"I-I'm… y-you…h-how can I-" I stumbled over my speech. I could tell that something was wrong mentally, but resisting it wasn't easy, and when China actually spoke, I felt the mental pressure increase massively.

"He's new, cute, but not really my type." Despite her words being so negative, they only increased my affection for her. Each syllable a beautiful melody. I was heartbroken when her speech ended, and it seemed I wasn't the only one.

"Oh madam! Please please please let me stay with you!" Bob cried out. I had dropped my small bag when I had fallen to my knee, and the skull had tumbled out onto the floor. His eyes glowing bright orange, Bob was starting to rant and he was going to such extremes that even I, in my utterly lovesick state, found shocking. It was around the sixth stanza of erotic and extremely graphic poetry from Bob that I recovered enough to get to my feet, scooping up the still ranting and raving skull and quickly stuffing him into my bag. I gave Valkyrie an apologetic glance, despite how capable she seemed, she was still far too young to be hearing that kind of stuff. Hell, I think I was too young to hear about some of the stuff Bob was begging China to do with and to him.

"Sorry about that, my friends warned me but guess I wasn't really prepared enough." I winced, extending a hand to China. The feelings of disgust brought on by Bob's "flirting", was enough to snap me out of my debilitating lovesick stupor, although I still avoided looking the extremely beautiful woman in the face. If just looking at her normally was enough to violently effect my mind in such a way, I was terrified to think what might happen if I accidentally initiated a soul gaze. Chances were, I wouldn't come back from something like that.

"It's quite alright, as you can no doubt imagine, I'm used to such behaviour…" China spoke casually, as if men throwing themselves down before her in worship was a daily occurrence. To be honest, it seemed highly likely that it was for her.

"D-do you mind if I ask how you do that? I know the white court vampires are supposed to do something similar, but I've never experienced it myself…" 

"I hope you're not suggesting I have anything in common with those ugly beasts of the night." China's expression turned to a scowl for just a second, before her eyes darted to my bag. Bob was still mumbling away to himself, but much more subdued. I imagined it helped that he could no longer actually see his new object of his obsession.

"Oh, I don't mean to offend, just curious is all. Malcolm Tent, nice to meet you Ms...?" I trailed off. I knew China's name already, but I liked to be polite with matters of introduction. Names and tradition were important in the world of magic for more than just introductions.

"Sorrows, China Sorrows…" She took a pause after speaking, I got the sense she was evaluating me, and I couldn't help but start to sweat under her evaluating gaze.

"So, how much for the talking skull Mr. Tent?"


	6. Chapter Six

“I beg your pardon?” I had to take a few seconds to fully process what China was asking of me. My first instincts were to reach into my bag and hand over Bob right away, but I was able to quickly fend that instinct away with logic and stop myself from doing anything too stupid. It went without saying that giving away Bob just wasn’t something I was willing to do, regardless of whatever magic or money China was going to try and throw my way. Despite it not being something I was willing to do however, I did realise that if she really asked me to directly however, I probably wouldn't be able to refuse her.

"I'm sure you heard me Mr. Tent, that skull of yours is quite the interesting little oddity, I would be more than happy to take it off your hands, for a fair price of course…" China purposely fluttered her eyes as she spoke. It was honestly quite impressive to watch now that I was in on the secret. Even the smallest of her movements served a purpose, whether it was crossing her arms to push her breasts up, leaning forward to let me catch the alluring scent of her floral perfume, or even just looking me up and down with that sultry gaze of hers, making me blush involuntarily. She was like the personification of a thorny rose. I knew there was danger, but there was still the overwhelming desire to just charge in blindly.

"Bob… isn't really mine to sell, he can think and choose for himself." 

"Oh? Then maybe you should bring him out and see what he has to say to my offer?" China gestured at my bag and I reflexively put a hand over it, pulling it back. I turned to look back at Skulduggery and Valkyrie, hoping for some backup, but they had seemingly disappeared into the may rows of books; leaving me to deal with China alone. I could spy the top of Skulduggery's hat over the top of a short bookcase, and Valkyrie seemed to be chatting to a few of the other people browsing the shelves. I couldn’t help but feel like I was bait for China, distracting the metaphorical tiger while my friends got what we needed from the enclosure. I supposed it was for the greater good that I just played along for now.

“Yeah, I don’t think Bob is really in the right headspace, if you’ll pardon the pun, to be making important decisions about his future right now. Maybe if you turn off whatever mojo you’re working then maybe we can have a serious talk about it.” There was an uncomfortably long silence after I challenged China, and I thought I saw anger flash in her deeply beautiful eyes for just a second.

"I'd be very careful with how you speak to me Mr. Tent, if you want to leave here in one piece that is.” China spoke calmly, sliding one hand across one of her tattooed arms. The black swirl imprinted on her flesh seemed to react to the tough, as if it was a living thing. I was so focused on watching the mesmerising scene that I didn’t even notice the pair of bookcases that slammed into me from behind. They knocked me down hard to the ground and before I could reach China had swept my bag open and pulled Bob free, holding him in one hand as if about to give an impassioned speech about poor Yorick.

“My lady! Please allow me-” Bob started, his eyes aglow, but he quickly fell silent as China held out a finger to where his lips would have been. I jumped back to my feet, wary of the bookcases still flanking me from the rear, and held out a hand in what I hoped was a threatening pose. I didn’t particularly want to attempt another fire spell in such an enclosed space, especially with all the books around. A lot of people could get hurt. 

“Give him back, now. I don’t care what kind of game you’re playing here lady, but Bob is my friend.” I growled, reaching out and sensing the magic in the air. There was an awful lot swirling around China, seemingly always shifting and changing. I wasn’t sure I could take her in a straight up fight. Thankfully, it didn’t seem like it would have to come to that.

“Oh relax, I’m only teasing. A talking skull is most certainly an oddity, but nothing I haven’t seen before.” China grinned, waving a tattoo-covered arm that seemed to set the rather aggressively-leaning bookcases at ease. I didn’t relax.

“In that case, hand him back over, I’m not a fan of these kinds of games.” China seemed to consider my words for a moment, then tossed Bob back to me. I was so startled I almost dropped him.

“Come on Harry! Don’t ruin this for me!” Bob spoke up, the frustration obvious in his voice.

“I’m sure you’ll thank me for this later Bob, just try to sleep it off for now or something.” I sighed, quickly stuffing the glowing skull back into my bag. The last thing I needed was for him to blurt out something about his vast store of magical knowledge in front of the woman who was clearly an avid collector of such things. I had a dreadful sense that if China knew exactly what she had just been holding, she would have never given him back to me.

“So, is this how all of you magically inclined folk say hello here?” I directed the question at China, but she seemed to have lost interest in me now that Bob had gone back into the bag. She turned her back on me and waved a hand casually in a goodbye gesture.

“Enjoy my collection for now Mr. Tent, I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other a lot more in the coming days, and hopefully you can bring me something more interesting then.”

“S-sure, what should I-”

“Oh, and if any of my books get so much as scratched while you do your research…” China never finished that sentence, instead letting part of her dress purposefully shift and reveal a thick, black, coiling tattoo on her back. It reminded me of an anaconda, squeezing the life out of some poor, unsuspecting prey.

I really didn’t like how sinister that warning sounded, but there was nothing I could do about it. I made a mental note to never let my guard down again around China Sorrows. She wasn’t at all what I had been expecting, and unpredictable and powerful was a lethal combination that I had no plans on messing with if I could avoid it. I still wasn’t entirely convinced that the woman wasn’t just going to wait for me to be distracted by her collection and then crush me under a particularly heavy bookcase. Just standing there worrying did me no good however, so I ventured into the stacks of books, intent on finding Skulduggery or Valkyrie. They were no longer visible to me, so I assumed they were off searching for information deeper in the labyrinthine library.

You could say whatever you wanted about China Sorrows and her temperamental nature, she had a damn impressive collection. Even without the books being my main focus, I found myself stopping several times on my journey through the shelves, one or two books catching my eye in every row. It was extremely hard to resist the temptation to peruse just a few, but I knew if I started down a magical rabbit hole now I could very well lose myself among the rows for hours. I didn’t really like China from our horrible first meeting, but if getting along meant I would be able to freely access her great wealth of knowledge? I could suck up and look past some of her “quirks”. Just as long as she didn’t threaten me or Bob again, as part of a so-called game or not. Eventually, I did stumble upon Skulduggery and Valkyrie, they seemed to have met up, and were now both rapidly browsing a single shelf tucked in a corner of the library. I didn’t see any signs, but after examining a couple of books over Valkyrie’s shoulders the common theme seemed to be myth and legends.

“So, want to talk about how you sorta just left me to fend for myself back there?” Valkyrie jumped when I spoke, while Skulduggery just kept browsing through the shelf, pulling out tome after tome in his gloved hands, flicking through them and then either returning them or setting them aside. 

“Yeah, sorry about that, first meetings with China are always pretty messy, we figured it would be best if we gave you some space while you recovered.” Valkyrie looked genuinely apologetic. It was a fair point, I had mostly been joking with my faux accusation, but at least the pair hadn’t stuck around to witness my embarrassment fully.

“So does she do that to everyone that comes in here?” 

“From what I can tell yeah, she likes to greet any new visitors personally, and the weaker willed ones can end up doing some pretty crazy things for her.” 

“Speaking from experience?” I raised an eyebrow and Valkyrie blushed.

“Thankfully I was able to stop myself doing anything stupid, but just barely.”

“Why do you guys trust her then? If she’s constantly trying to manipulate people, why hasn’t anyone done anything about it?” I whispered, not liking the idea of China overhearing me. I had seen that she could control the shelves, so it wasn’t too far of a stretch to assume her powers may allow her to extend her senses through her collection in some way.

"She's mostly harmless. China has lines that she never crosses." Skulduggery spoke up, not slowing in his search as he did so.

"Like what?"

"Oh you know, murder, random acts of violence, cutting in line at the bank, that kind of stuff."

"So the sanctuary is fine just leaving her alone as long as she doesn't do any of that stuff?" 

"As long as she doesn't get caught doing any of that stuff, sure. She's far too useful a resource to just arrest because of a little bit of emotional manipulation." Once again, I couldn't tell whether or not Skulduggery was joking thanks to his flawless poker face. I was really going to have to work on that. For the time being, I started poking through the book shelf too. If Skulduggery and Valkyrie were happy to stay here with China, then it was probably alright. That didn't stop me from keeping one hand firmly on my bag at all times while I searched, however.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Searching through the entire library section of myths and legends was an endeavour that had mixed results. We had to sift through an awful lot to find what we needed, and sadly the amount of relevant information was pretty lacking. The mentions of Greek legend that appeared in the books was mainly in reference to the old stories rather than anything conforming them as real events. Despite this, we still read up on what we could about the legends. Supposedly, most of the monsters of legend were either created by or descended from the Greek gods in some way or another. It was all information I had to take with a grain of salt, as believing in any kind of god wasn't really my style. 

"Are we actually working under the assumption that literal gods are walking among us?" I felt dumb for asking it, but someone had to.

"Why would that be so weird? I'm sure you've seen plenty of stuff you thought was impossible at first in your line of work Malcolm." Valkyrie seemed to be getting pretty into the legends, while Skulduggery remained professional.

"I'm not sure I believe everything about the so-called gods in these legends, but it is certainly possible that extremely powerful sorcerers existed back then and these legends are based off of them." Skulduggery flipped through one of the books, pointing to a page with a painting of what looked to be a group of Skeletons wielding swords. 

"I mean it's very unlikely that I'm walking around as a skeleton because someone planted a dragon tooth where I died, but it's possible the true details in these stories got lost long ago." Skulduggery flipped to another page, this time with a group of Amazonian women fighting a large Chimera-like beast. 

"Monster hunters, physically stronger than regular humans according to the stories." Skulduggery looked up at me.

"Like a certain monster hunter we know…" I muttered. I had to admit, Skulduggery had a solid point.

"So, maybe we are dealing with Greek gods of legend, maybe we're just dealing with some really old and powerful sorcerers. What we need to know is how to stop them." Valkyrie stepped in as the voice of reason. The theory behind what was happening was fascinating, but Valkyrie was right. We needed to focus on a viable solution.

"Well, according to the stories, most of these creatures could be killed by mortal weapons. Heroes did it all the time and even Tanith's friend apparently killed some of those giant scorpions." I pointed out.

"But some of the stories also seem to agree that killing the monsters isn't really a permanent solution. They supposedly just return to "Tartarus", and eventually pop back up with a grudge against whoever sent them there." Skulduggery brought out another book, showing us a depiction of the so-called "Tartarus", a hellish looking pit. 

"So we need a more permanent solution to deal with the creatures, and I'm guessing the "gods" too." I hadn't seen anything in the books about actually killing the gods. I doubted they were going to go down as easily as their monsters.

"That's going to be an issue we should prepare for, these books are very liberal with the word "immortal" when describing these gods, and we don't really have any god killing weapons lying around… anymore." Valkyrie winced. 

"Is… that another joke?" I frowned. A weapon that could supposedly kill a god was quite the terrifying idea. If I had to come up with something for such a purpose, the only thing I could really think of off the top of my head was mordite. An extremely dangerous substance referred to as deathstone by most who knew of it. It was supposedly a material that quite literally ripped the life out of anything it came into contact with. Even I didn't know if that would be enough to kill a supposedly immortal god however.

"Sadly not, we did have a weapon that was supposedly used to kill gods. It caused us quite a lot of trouble a couple of years back when it fell into the wrong hands." Skulduggery gave Valkyrie a pat on the back.

"Thankfully Valkyrie and I managed to stop that particular threat from killing us all, the weapon got broken in the process though."

"Don't suppose there's any way to repair it?" 

"If there is, we haven't found it yet." 

"Well, the gods aren't supposed to be necessarily evil right?" I ventured. 

"Not all of them, why?" Skulduggery flipped through one of our books to a section on the gods in particular. Some of them like Ares and Hades seemed to be the type we should certainly be worried about, while others like Aphrodite and Apollo just seemed neutral.

"I was hoping we could try and talk to one, figure out what's going on, why, and if we can stop it."

"That's some hopeful thinking there." 

"I mean it's basically between that and trying to find a way to kill them.” Skulduggery seemed to be in deep thought. Eventually let out a long sigh.

“Regardless of what we’re going to do, whether it’s talking or fighting, we need to better understand these things." 

"Agreed, any ideas on how we do that?"

"Uh…" Valkyrie was leaning up against a nearby window, a confused expression on her face. Skulduggery and I just kept jabbering away.

"Interviewing witnesses would be a good start, the "gods" and some of the more intelligent monsters have made several appearances already. At the very least, our people who had to fight the monsters off will know more than us at this point.”

“Guys?” Valkyrie was staring out of the window now, and I felt my stomach drop out from under me. There was a new kind of magic in the air, Like nothing I had felt before. Whatever it was, it felt old and incredibly powerful. It was as if I could sense it waking up after a long sleep. A little stiff at first, but all too quickly stretching out and moving through the air with familiarity. I dropped my book, momentarily forgetting about the promised wrath of China if I damaged any of her precious collection. 

“Well, at least this saves us the trip to find them…”


	7. Chapter Seven

What I saw out of the window took me a few long seconds to fully comprehend, and even then, I had trouble actually believing what I was seeing. Towering outside, monstrous in appearance, a massive humanoid beast was slowly but surely lumbering towards the building. The creature was roughly the size of a Greyhound bus, with a terrifying amount of muscle rippling under its strange grey skin. Despite being in a seemingly sturdy building, I felt like if the creature wanted it could easily rip right through the brick and tear us apart, or smash us to pieces with the huge wooden club it was resting over one shoulder. I was about to ask Skulduggery what we should do, when the beast brought its gaze up to the window we were now all collectively staring out of, the one giant eye in the centre of the forehead of the creature staring right back. I didn’t need to browse through any of the books on Greek myth and legend to know that we were looking at an honest to gods cyclops.

“Do… you think it might be friendly?” Valkyrie winced even as she posed the hopeful question. 

“If it was friendly Valkyrie, I really doubt it would have shown up with such a massive club Valkyrie.” Skulduggery was surprisingly calm as per usual. He seemed to be assessing the situation outside and inside, looking around the library as much as he could with all the tall shelves packed with books.

“Maybe it’s an olive branch? Or a whole olive tree? That could mean he’s extra friendly?” Valkyrie sighed.

“Yeah no, we’re going to have to fight him aren’t we?” The hope had completely drained from Valkyrie’s voice now and she seemed to be preparing herself, stretching and flexing both hands.

“That would certainly seem to be the case.” Skulduggery replied. He lifted open his jacket, pulling out a familiar-looking revolver, looking back and forth between the gun and the cyclops as if wondering if it would have any effect.

“Chief’s special?” I nod approvingly at the gun, wishing I had brought my own. 

“Of course, it is a classic for a reason.” Skulduggery flicks open the revolving chamber with a smooth, practised motion, checking it was fully loaded before giving it a satisfying spin and clicking it back into place.

“Don’t suppose you have a spare? Left mine back in Chicago and think I’ll be needing all the firepower I can get if we’re actually going to fight that thing…” I trailed off as Skulduggery pulled open the other side of his immaculate jacket, revealing another identical revolver which he carefully handed to me barrel first. 

“Be careful with it, they’re a set.” 

“Hey, how come Malcolm gets to use the spare gun?” Valkyrie pouts.

“Because from the sound of things, he actually knows how to use one. I’ll teach you one day if you want, but for the time being your magic should be more than enough.” Valkyrie doesn’t look happy but seems to accept things and just shrugs it off. I give the gun a once over and accept a handful of bullets from Skulduggery, which I stuff loosely one of the many pockets on my duster. The familiar weight of a gun in my hand is surprisingly comforting, despite the current threat being one that a couple of bullets was unlikely to deal with.

“So should we tell China or…” I trail off as Skulduggery and Valkyrie start for the door. Valkyrie shoots a glance at me, one eyebrow raised.

“Sure, if you want to be the one to tell her some huge monster is about to attack her collection, go right ahead.” 

“Does she tend to shoot the messenger then?”

“Nah, just shooting them would be too generous for China, see you outside though! Probably…” Valkyrie seems like she’s joking, but honestly, I can’t tell. I just grumble and follow her, not wanting to tempt China’s wrath. I’m sure she will intervene if the cyclops actually threatens any of her books, but if it happens to crush a few pedestrians outside in the meantime? I can’t see her caring too much. I jog after Valkyrie and Skulduggery and once we’re all together we swiftly make our way downstairs and pause before exiting the building. Knowing that on the other side of the flimsy wooden door, a gargantuan beast is waiting, isn’t fun in the slightest.

“So… what’s the plan? Do we go out shooting?” I ask in a whisper, trying desperately to keep the fear out of my voice. 

“We should at least try and talk to it, I’m pretty certain it saw us through the window, but it didn’t just start attacking…” Skulduggery sounds unsure of himself, which is a pretty scary thing on its own.

“Would it even understand us? What if it just starts swinging?” I grimace, picturing what that huge wooden club, swung by a creature of that size, could do if it connected. None of us would survive a direct hit, even if it clipped us, about a dozen broken bones would be us getting off lightly.

“Then we start firing, don’t think bullets will do too much, but I find fire works on most things. If we can’t kill it, we can at least hold it off until backup arrives.” Skulduggery has regained most of his usual composure.

“Have you called for backup?” Valkyrie looks confused.

“No, but China will have made a call by now. She knows anytime anything magical even steps foot near the building. This isn’t the first time someone, or something, has tried to attack her collection. I’d give it ten minutes before sanctuary agents and damage control are here.”

“Alright, so we just have to last ten minutes…” I mumble the words and we all exchange a look. This is it, we’re almost certainly about to stroll into a life or death fight.

“Go for the eye I guess?” Valkyrie tries to force a smile and I manage a weak chuckle. Skulduggery nods seriously, before yanking the door open and striding out onto the street. I nervously follow, gun at my side as I try to get a grasp of the magic in the air so I can prepare a particularly powerful fire spell if I need one. Valkyrie comes last, both hands up in front of her with her palms facing toward the monster. The cyclops was busy scratching itself when we emerged, it seemed pretty calm, until it spotted us and hefted up the huge club.

“Humans! Me sense powerful magic here! Me want!” The creature roared and I cringed. Not only was the voice of the creature loud enough to scare off birds several streets away, but the amount of spittle it sent flying with every word was enough to make me extremely thankful I was wearing my leather duster. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Skulduggery and his poor suit though.

“Nope! No magic here today I’m afraid!” Skulduggery shouts back to the creature in a surprisingly calm voice, Valkyrie and I stare at him in befuddlement, and he just shrugs.

“Me can sense magic! You lying to me!” The cyclops bellowed back. I was shocked that it actually responded. If it was intelligent enough to communicate like this, maybe we could reason with it? Or at the very least, delay it long enough for the backup Skulduggery had promised to arrive.

“Ah right… well yes there is some magic here, but it’s not…” Skulduggery paused, clearly trying to think of a line of reasoning that wouldn’t result in him being smashed into bone dust.

“It’s not ripe yet!” I cried out. Skulduggery just seemed to be winging it, so I figured I may as well join in. I could hardly hurt the situation.

“Not ripe?!” The cyclops leaned down towards us, the huge eye focusing on each of us in turn. I did my best not to shiver in revulsion as I felt the hot stench of the beast’s breath wash over me. It stank of rotting meat and a collection of other smells I tried to desperately block out as to avoid throwing up. Offending the giant monster that was still on the fence about attacking us was something I very much wanted to avoid.

“That’s right! There is some magic here now, but it’s nothing compared to how much there will be if you wait for tommorrow!” Valkyrie joined in. The cyclops seemed to deeply consider our words for a few seconds, lowering the large club as he stroked his chin. 

“This magic, powerful enough to lure in lots of tasty, greedy humans yes?” I really didn’t like the sound of that, but at this point, we had no choice but to keep playing along.

“O-of course! What do you think brought us here?” I ventured. Almost as soon as I spoke, I realised my mistake. The cyclops’ eye widened and he licked his lips. 

“You tasty?” The beast’s gaze swept over us once again, drool splattering the ground as he hefted the club up once again. I wanted to groan, it had been going so well until I ruined things.

“N-no! Not us… I mean… oh screw it.” I sighed, sharing a quick nod with Skulduggery. In unison, we both brought up our guns and started to fire. The living skeleton was a lot quicker on the draw than me, and managed to entirely empty his own weapon into the eye of the cyclops while I only managed to score three shots before the beast recoiled and shouted in pain, stomping around like a child throwing a tantrum, the very ground shaking as he did so.

“Humans dare attack me! You pay!” The cyclops growled in anger, moving his hand away from his eye to reveal that it was still in pretty much perfect condition. Our bullets had done nothing but scratch it, they had entirely failed to penetrate the normally soft tissue, and now the cyclops was definitely pissed off. I was so busy staring at the undamaged eyeball that I barely reacted in time to dive out of the way of the first downward swing. The club crashed into the ground with enough force to send cracks spiderwebbing out through the thick concrete. I now had zero doubts about the lethality of the threat we were dealing with. We needed to end things fast. I decided to pull out my trump card right away.

“Fuego!” I raised my hand as the cyclops started to lift his massive club back into the air for another swing. Just as I had done last time, I channelled the latent energy in the air through my own body, and amplified it out of my open palm with as much force as I could muster. A plume of vibrant red flame shot forth with enough pressure to send both me and the cyclops stumbling back slightly, the fire easily engulfing his massive form. I let the fire erupt from my hand for a few seconds longer before stopping my channelling. I didn’t want to cause any property damage or let any of the nearby cars catch fire. Once the fire stopped spewing out of my hand, however, I saw the hulking figure of the cyclops was still standing tall, grinning widely. My flames had been strong enough to reduce the club it had been wielding to ashes, but the cyclops itself just stood there without even a singe on it. 

“Stupid human! You’ll need a lot stronger fire than that to hurt a cyclops!” The beast laughed before cracking his knuckles menacingly, lashing out with deceptive speed at Valkyrie, who had been trying to circle behind him. Thankfully, Valkyrie managed to duck the blow, seeming to blast herself back out of the creature’s range with a burst of wind. 

“Any plans!?” I shout to Skulduggery, who has reloaded his gun and started blasting the monster in the back with bullets and blasts of air that barely shift it, the repeated angry barks of his revolver nothing compared to the roar from the cyclops as it spins around and almost pulverises the skeleton where he stands. Skulduggery is fast though, ducking and weaving blows extremely gracefully, his fists raised. It’s a pointless dance however, as there are no openings that Skulduggery can exploit on a foe like this, he’s just purely focused on survival. 

“Don’t get hit!” Skulduggery shouts back. Good advice all in all, but nothing I wasn't already trying my best to do. I try and focus on the magic in the air once more as I dodge chunks of concrete kicked up by the cyclop's latest wild swing, but it's a fruitless endeavour. I want to try and summon some energy other than fire, something that may penetrate the natural defenses of the creature, but I still have next to no practice with this new style of magic. Fire was easy for me, as it was the element I had the most practice with already, and I had already used it against the Hollow Men before. Trying to whip up a new spell while narrowly avoiding death every few seconds? Nearly impossible.

I didn't know what we should be doing differently, but I knew that if we didn't change up our strategy quickly we would all be reduced to smudges on the sidewalk within a few minutes. More out of desperation than anything else, I took a chance when an opportunity presented itself and took a running jump onto the cyclop's back as Skulduggery and Valkyrie unleashed a combined barrage of fireballs from the front. I hoped that maybe, just maybe, I could actually hurt the monster's eye if I shot or burned it from point blank range. All my risky maneuver actually accomplished however was getting me thrown with incredible force down the street. I skidded and slid for nearly half a block before coming to a stop. I could feel the bruises already, and I knew without my leathers I would have lost an awful lot of skin from that throw. We were just so outclassed, I had to try something, but I was starting to realize just how useless things were. Then the cavalry arrived.

The roar of the motorcycle filled me with both hope and dread as I turned to see the familiar form of Tanith Lowe riding down the street on her sleek and speedy veichle. We definitely needed the backup, but I couldn’t see what Tanith could do to the creature that we couldn’t. Bullets, fire, and whatever else we tried to throw at the cyclops just seemed to bounce off. No matter how good the monster hunter was with a sword, I couldn’t see her doing much where we had failed. As Tanith drew closer, however, I noticed a few important details. While before, she had been riding her motorcycle solo, this time, there was another helmeted figure riding behind her, arms wrapped tightly around her slim waist. That wasn’t the only difference either, as Tanith drew closer, I realised that she was only using one hand to actually steer the bike. Her other was clutching a sword, not her usual sword, that was glimmering with what looked like a golden glow. 

At first I thought I must have been delirious from the throw, but regardless of how messed up I was, what happened next surprised everyone. The cyclops turned to face Tanith as she sped towards it, reaching out one of its massive hands to pluck her off the bike. Before it could however, the sword Tanith was wielding became a flash in her hand, blurring about at a nearly imperceptible speed. The cyclops roared in actual pain for the first time, as it's massive arm was segmented and completely severed from its body, turning to what looked like dust.

"W-where did you get that sword human!" The cyclops bellowed with pure rage, clutching the wound it had sustained and lumbering after Tanith, who had sped by on her bike before skidding around to a stop. The cyclops didn't get a chance to get even, however, as with a casual flick of the wrist, Tanith had launched the glowing blade through the air, directly on course with the cyclops' eye. The beast panicked and cried out, trying to block the blade with the arm it had left, but it was far too slow. Where our bullets and flames failed, the sword succeeded, sinking into the monster's eye up to the hilt. The cyclops let out a final cry of rage before quite literally exploding into a cloud of dust that blanketed a large portion of the street, the sword tumbling to the floor as it did.

I just stared, wide-eyed, while Tanith casually removed her helmet, shaking her long blonde hair free as she strolled over to the sword, kicking it up into the air with her foot and easily catching it before shooting me a wink. I felt my heart skip a beat, and quickly got to my feet, hurrying over. Skulduggery could wait, I was buying Tanith a drink as soon as I got the opportunity!


	8. Chapter Eight

When I started off my day, I knew I would be meeting a wizard from Chicago but I definitely didn’t expect to be facing giant cyclopes on my motorcycle, a new sword made out of supposedly “blessed metals” in hand. Just goes to show, no matter how prepared you think you are, the world of magic will always find a way to surprise you. I very quickly learned that you just have to take the surprises in stride. Hell, just in the past couple of years I'd nearly died a handful of times, once by nearly being cut in half by a zombified cleaver, another being poisoned by a very pissed off artificial god. If those things couldn't slow me down, finding out Greek legends were very much real certainly wouldn't. I'm Tanith bloody Lowe after all. When life knocks me down, I'll always get back up.

After our meeting with Guild at the Sanctuary, I was more than a little worried by what he told us. Creatures and beings of myth and legend appearing all over the world, most of which seemingly hostile? Yeah, that was enough to make nearly anyone shake in their boots. Honestly though, the fear and worry were taking a massive backseat to the feeling of excitement I was experiencing. To me, the world had just become a much more interesting place, full of all new possibilities. It's no secret that I love the more action-packed parts of my job, and the prospect of an all-new breed of interesting and deadly foes to battle against had me itching to draw my sword. 

I thought I could be a modern-day hero, like Theseus, slayer of the minotaur, or Jason, finder of the golden fleece. Failing that? I'd honestly be happy just getting into some fun fights, pushing myself to new limits. Past that, I was also excited to have the wizard from Chicago around. Malcolm was one I wanted to keep an eye on, and not just because he was a real looker. From the look of things in how he handled himself with the hollow men, Tent had a lot more power than he seemed and could be an extremely useful ally. 

Regardless, fighting alongside him was something I was definitely looking forward to in the future, and I knew that with all the reports of strange activity I would almost certainly get the chance before long. As I waved goodbye to Malcolm outside of the Sanctuary, speeding off to investigate one of said reports, I made a mental note to invite the guy out for drinks when I next got the chance. I was pretty sure I wouldn't have to do the asking though, with how wide-eyed and blushy the guy got around me in the brief time we were together. For the time being, however, I had to try and focus on my job. Skulduggery, Valkyrie and Malcolm were off to deal with China, and I was off monster hunting. I was no stranger to the research of course, but I preferred it when it was more hands-on.

I was headed for a small Dublin park, not too far from the seaside. According to the files provided by guild, there had already been a pair of monster attacks by the place over the past two days, so it was a fairly safe assumption to make that I may be able to run into something there if I was lucky. After the second attack, where a trio of giant scorpions had supposedly run loose, the Sanctuary had put some agents on making sure the park was shut down to the general public, spinning some story about wild snakes making it unsafe. Not too far from the truth, I suppose, but the main thing was that it would make my job a hell of a lot easier. I was hoping not to run in with any giant scorpions myself though. I could still feel a phantom pain throughout my body from where I had been poisoned not too long ago, coming too close to death for comfort. Sadly, it looked like fate was up for playing some cruel games for me.

It took me nearly a full minute after, my motorbike came squealing to a halt, to actually comprehend what I was seeing. The beast had the body of a lion, rippling with muscles as it prowled about the park, but when it turned in my direction I was taken aback to see it had a shockingly human face. The eyes, the nose, the mouth, everything was far too small and human to match the body. And then there was the tail. It made me physically shudder when I first saw it. A dark black colour, with chitinous armor completely covering it, and the vicious looking sting at the top, it was undeniably a scorpion sting. I was a bit fuzzy on my Greek legends, but I was fairly sure this mismatched beast was what is known as a manticore. That or a chimera, but those are pretty easy to mix up. Whatever it was, it was dangerous, and a monster, which meant I needed to do my job.

"Hey ugly!" I called out, drawing my sword as I strode confidently toward the monster. 

"Didn't you get the memo? Park is closed today." The manticore tilted its head at me, and I could have sworn it looked confused which made me freeze. If the creature was intelligent, and could understand my speech, maybe we wouldn't even have to fight. That train of thought was rapidly derailed however, as the manticore swished it's tail at me in a violent flourish and before I knew it I was bringing my sword up to block several thorny projectiles. 

Silently thankful for my hard-wired combat reflexes, I started to sprint toward the creature ready to begin the fight proper. It seemed to return my intention, as the lion hybrid leapt straight at me, claws like scythes extended and ready to slice me into ribbons. I met the sudden charge with a slide, slipping under the lethal claws and slicing the monster across the stomach with my own blade. Once I was clear from the creature, I turned to check on the damage I must have dealt with my slash, only to see that the manticore was very much uninjured and charging right at me. 

Without my momentum, I had to use my sword to block the beast as it reared up on its hind legs and brought the razor-sharp claws down upon me. I was able to properly stop the attack, but it left me exposed to the monster's tail, which whipped around to stab me in the back. I couldn't dodge without exposing myself to being bisected from the front, but thankfully my agility trumped that of the monster. Keeping my sword in place, I jumped into the air just as the stinger was coming in for a deadly jab. My intention was to come down on the toxic appendage, driving the pointed tip into the ground with a leather boot, but it snapped back like a whip as soon as the creature realised it had missed. This was going to be a tricky fight. 

I managed to get some distance from my feline foe by releasing my block and swiftly hopping back several feet, then before it could recover I dashed back in, using both hands to thrust my slender blade towards the creature's face. I was expecting to inflict some serious damage, perhaps blind the creature if not kill it outright with such a blow, but I had no such luck. My sword seemed to just slide right off the hide of the manticore, not even leading a scratch as it utterly failed to penetrate. I leapt back again as soon as I could, putting as much distance between myself and the monster as possible. 

"That… is going to be a problem…" I grimaced, looking down at my sword. The blade was definitely sharp, I had made sure of that before coming to the park, expecting a fight. It just didn't make sense to me. A powerful stab in an area as vulnerable as the face should have done something. That and the fact that my earlier blow also had no evident effect told me something was very wrong with this whole fight. It didn't seem like one I would be able to win, regardless of how fast or skillful I fought. Just as I was trying to make a new plan, the manticore suddenly sprang forward with speed that I was not prepared for. This time, I was barely able to block, and when the tail darted around, this time it was from the side. It was aimed perfectly at my midsection, jumping or ducking would be useless, and it was too late to back away. 

"Heads up!" I heard the voice from behind be and turned to catch what seemed to be a small bronze knife whizzing through the air. It collided with the tail just before it hit me, and the appendage seemed to turn to dust the moment the blade touched it. My eyes went wide as the beast howled in pain, and I took advantage of the surprise attack to slip away. When I looked around for my helper, there was nobody in sight, which was strange seeing as the distinctly feminine voice had come from right behind me, and the closest trees were too far away to hide behind that quickly. While there was no person, there was a sword, thrust blade-first into the ground.

The sword was distinctly Greek in design, with a glimmering bronze blade. It was shorter than my usual sword, but I got the feeling it was worth trading out my regular blade for this fight, especially after seeing how useless it was compared to the similarly bronze looking knife. I stowed my regular sword and pulled the new blade out of the ground, giving it a few experimental swings while the manticore still recovered from the loss of its tail. The sword was shockingly light, it must have been less than half the weight of my other sword. I had my doubts about it, my instincts telling me there was no way a light blade like this could do much against the beast the size of a truck before me. But then I noticed the way the manticore was eyeing me. 

"What's wrong? Come and have a go, if you think you're hard enough!" I held the sword up in a defensive posture from which I could easily strike. The manticore was no longer acting as aggressively as it had been before. It's behaviour towards me had clearly changed with me picking up the new weapon, its eyes seeming to focus on the glimmering blade as it prowled back and forth; presumably looking for an opening. I didn't wait for it to find one, and instead took an opportunity to surprise the creature. 

As soon as I started sprinting towards the beast, it growled and seemed to ready itself for another pouncing attack. It didn't get the chance. As soon as I got close, I swung my new sword at the ground by my side, arcing the slash forward. Sure enough, the blade easily dug into the soft earth and flung up a small cloud of dirt and grass. The cloud collided with the manticore's face, causing the beast to begin swiping and growling wildly, but I had accomplished what I wanted. I simply slipped around to one exposed side, and delivered a thrust towards what I hoped would be the heart of the creature. Apparently, I must have done something right, as the beast let out one final pained howl as it turned to dust around my blade. Just like that, the fight was over, and I stood victorious and uninjured.

"Not bad, I liked the move with the dirt, very inventive." I spun around to face the speaker, bringing up my guard once again. It was a young girl, seemingly no older than fifteen or sixteen, with medium length blonde hair and grey eyes. She was dressed in fairly standard looking street clothes, an orange t-shirt and jeans, with a baseball cap gripped in one hand with a familiar bronze knife in the other.

"Who are you? Why did you help me?" I try to remain calm. I doubt this stranger is here to try and kill me, especially after they seemingly saved me, but it didn't hurt to be cautious.

"Calm down, I'm on your side. My name is Annabeth, and I believe you're Tanith?" The girl spoke very calmly, and I started to pick up on the American accent. I didn't like the fact that she seemed to know me, but it wasn't too shocking. I did have a bit of a reputation after all.

"That's me, Tanith Lowe, you a sorcerer?"

"Something like that I guess, it's a bit of a long story really, but there will be plenty of time for that later, right now I'm pretty sure your friends are going to need some help."

"What do you mean? I'm not a fan of being kept in the dark, and you clearly know more about this mess than any of us seem to…" Annabeth sighed at this, turning her back on me and starting towards my motorbike. I had no choice but to drop my stance and job after her.

"Hey, you can't just run off and-"

"I'm not running off, I promise I'll explain everything, but right now we need to go and help your friends. One of my team has tracked particularly dangerous looking cyclops to the area where they are, and I doubt any of their weapons are celestial bronze." Annebeth held up her dagger, giving it a playful twirl as if to demonstrate her point. 

"So, only this, celestial bronze stuff can hurt these monsters or something?" I frowned. That didn't add up with what I had heard from my friend who had taken on a few scorpions. 

"No, you can usually make do with more mundane weapons against some of the smaller monsters, but something like a cyclops is heavily armored and immune to fire. So your friends are almost certainly going to need a little extra help to deal with it." Annabeth had her arms crossed now, and nodded at the sword I was still holding. I weighed up the risks of the situation. It was possible that this strange girl was trying to lead me into some kind of trap, but if she wanted me dead she could have just left me to the monster. There was a chance that it was just an act, and her real objective was having me lead her to my friends, but that seemed unlikely to me. Trusting her was a risk, but if Skulduggery, Valkyrie and Malcolm really were in trouble, it was a risk I had to take.

"Alright, get on." I sighed, hopping onto the bike and tossing my helmet to Annabeth. I only had the one on me right now, and she was far younger than me. At least, that's how it looked. I didn't exactly look my age, so it was hard to judge others just based on their appearance. Another fun part of magic. For all I knew, she could be older than me.

"Thank you." Annabeth gave me a friendly smile, stowing her cap and dagger, securing the helmet on her head and sliding onto the seat behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist.

"Anything I need to know before we show up? Would prefer not to have any nasty surprises." I turn to ask Annabeth as I start up the bike. She seems to seriously consider my question before answering.

"We should be fine, but it's probably worth mentioning, the monsters will come back after a while, and they're likely to have a grudge against you when they do."

"Just what I needed." I sigh, turning back and getting us moving. I really wasn't looking forward to another encounter with the hybrid beast, and especially not the stinger. Deadly poison and stingers that could punch right through me like paper were things I honestly could do without in my life.


	9. Chapter Nine

When Tanith had to ride off on her own business earlier in the day, I had been planning to ask her out for a drink the next time I saw her. I had no idea that I would be seeing her again so soon, especially not in such an impressive manner. I was already practically a lovestruck mess the first time I saw Tanith, seeing her ride on a motorbike and effortlessly dispatch a giant Cyclops with a single slash of her shiny new sword? That only made my infatuation all the worse. After she dispatched the creature, Tanith casually brought her bike back around to where Skulduggery, Valkyrie and I were all still standing in shock at what just happened. Valkyrie still had a ball of fire conjured up on one hand, and Skulduggery was midway through reloading, the chamber of his revolver open. 

"Looks like I got here just in time, anybody hurt?" Tanith fixed her long blonde hair as she pulled the bike in by the sidewalk, between a pair of smashed cars. Having mostly recovered from the shock, we all collectively shook our heads and turned to look at the other person that had been on the bike with Tanith. They had now dismounted and removed the helmet that Tanith usually wore, revealing them to be a teenage girl. She looked to be about as old as Valkyrie, with blonde hair like Tanith.

“Is this your daughter?” I was the first to recover my composure enough to speak. The younger girl immediately blushed, and Tanith laughed.

“Nah, not that I know of anyway.” Tanith turned and shot the girl a teasing wink.

“Definitely not, unless she happens to be the goddess Athena, not my mom.” The girl grinned, seemingly taking great pleasure over the expressions of surprise that appeared on the faces of everyone present, excluding Skulduggery of course.

“Y-you’re the daughter of Athena? She’s supposed to be the god of intelligence or something like that right?” Valkyrie spoke up, stepping forward and extending a hand in greeting.

“Pretty close, Athena is actually the goddess of wisdom.” The girl stepped forward and took Valkyrie’s hand, shaking it enthusiastically.

“I’m Annabeth by the way, Annabeth Chase. I’m guessing you’re Valkyrie Cain?”

“Yeah, you know about us?” Annabeth didn’t get a chance to answer before Tanith cut in.

“That’s not all little miss demigod here knows about, she owes us some answers.” Tanith put a friendly, yet firm hand on Annabeth’s shoulder. Annabeth sighed but started her explanation.

“I was hoping to do this under better circumstances, but had to rush things a bit once I got word that a Cyclops would be showing up. Just please, let me get out the explanation, then I’ll take questions, alright?” 

“Sounds fine to me, we’ll behave ourselves.” Skulduggery nodded. If Annabeth was at all surprised to see that he was a walking and talking skeleton, she was taking it remarkably well. Much better than I initially did at least. I honestly was trying my best to just start taking everything in stride however. Ever since I got to Ireland, it felt like I had been hit by sucker punch after sucker punch of new information or magic that entirely contradicted pretty much everything I knew about the way the world worked. And now I was meeting the self-proclaimed child of an actual Greek goddess. I hoped that Bob was listening to all this from within my bag, as I was certainly going to have to go over everything at least a few times before it all really sank in.

“Alright, so by now I’m guessing you guys have realised the main thing I’m about to tell you, but I’ll say it anyway.” Annabeth took a deep breath, the sky rumbling above us all.

“The Greek gods you’ve heard about in so many legends? They’re all real. Not just them, but all the monsters they fought too, hence all the creatures you’ll have noticed appearing over the world. Those monsters usually focus on hunting down the offspring of the gods, demigods like me and most of my friends have a real hell of a time having to deal with them, but recently they’ve been appearing all over and we currently have no clue why.” Annebeth took a breath. It felt like she had given this speech, at least part of it, more than a few times before. 

“That manticore from the park, and the one-eyed creep that showed up here, neither of them were after any half-bloods, and there were no signs of them being summoned either. They just sort of… appeared.” Annabeth was silent for a few seconds, and I took the cue to raise my hand.

“Uh, so how do we stop them? None of our weapons really did much, and if they keep appearing like you say a lot of innocent people are going to be hurt.” As usual, my desire to keep those uninitiated in the ways of magic took priority over all else. I’m sure the council would have been proud. Well, they would be if I were any other wizard anyway. 

“Stopping them from showing up? No clue yet. Part of why I’m here is to provide the magical community of Ireland the information, and weapons, they need to combat the threat.”

“And the rest of the world?” Skulduggery spoke up with my next question. It was all well and good to worry about the here and now, but we needed a good idea of the bigger picture too.

“A couple of half-bloods from the camp, our main base in the US, headed to each major country that has been reporting the attacks. Have to say though, they seem a lot worse here than most other places we’ve heard about.”

“That’s the joy of being a cradle of magic I guess…” Tanith sighed, looking to Annabeth.

“So, got any more of these fancy bronze weapons for these guys?” She gestured to the new sword that she had used to take down the Cyclops. Valkyrie looked particularly excited at the idea of a new weapon.

“I’ve got a couple with me yeah, most I have stashed in a crate though. More than enough to arm a suitable number of your people to deal with most monsters.” Annabeth crouched down, unzipping her backpack and carefully rummaging through it. 

“Got a couple of options here, pick your poison.” True to her word, Annabeth had a small variety of different bronze weapons laid out before us. A couple of daggers, a short double-edged sword, what looked like a set of throwing knives and even a sickle with a wicked-looking edge.

“So what’s the deal again? These Greek monsters can only be killed with bronze?” I felt like I must have been missing something. I had seen for myself just how ineffective regular weapons and magic seemed to be against the not-so-mythical creatures, so I assumed that it was similar to how fairies were weak to cold iron.

“Not any old bronze, celestial bronze. It’s a special metal made by Cyclops smiths. Lethal to monsters and demigods, harmless to regular mortals.”

“And to us sorcerers and wizards?” I picked up the sword cautiously, surprised at just how light it was. 

“We weren’t sure at first, but it seems to affect nearly anyone with magical abilities. Swing that thing at a random passerby? Will go right through them, swing it at any of us here? Same as a regular sword.” Annabeth explained calmly, twirling a knife around in one hand as she did so.

“Huh, can appreciate that quite a bit actually.” I smiled at Annabeth as Skulduggery nodded in agreement, picking up the sickle for himself.

“What will it be Valkyrie?” He gestured at the remaining weapons as Valkyrie raised her eyebrows.

“I thought I was supposed to focus on my magic rather than weapons for now? You’ve never given me one before.”

“This is different, you won’t accidentally hurt any mortals waving one of these around, and you’ll be needing it if the monsters are immune to our magic.”

“About that…” Annabeth spoke up.

“What kind of magic were you using against the Cyclops? Most of our reports say that magic does just fine against most of the creatures. You weren’t just chucking fireballs at it or something were you?” Skulduggery, Valkyrie and I all shared a guilty look.

“In our defence, using massive amounts of fire when faced with a new kind of monster has had a surprisingly decent success rate in the past.” Skulduggery held up a gloved finger, a small flame dancing atop it like a lighter.

“Ok, well normally that would be alright, but Cyclopses are immune to heat and fire. Could take a bath in lava if they wanted and come out fine.”

“Ah, well that would have been good to know about twenty minutes ago…” Skulduggery tilted his head as he opened his jacket and stowed the sickle in one of his inner pockets. I handed him back his revolver too, which disappeared into another pocket. I had to respect his choice in formalwear once again seeing just how much space he had. I’d have to consider something similar so I could pack plenty of my trinkets to more formal occasions. Valkyrie eventually settled on a pair of daggers, and I stuck with a shortsword. I had a little practice with swords, but they were far from my speciality. I would have been much happier with some celestial bronze bullets in all honesty, but when I asked Annabeth she just frowned and told me that while it was possible, such a thing would be incredibly wasteful. It made sense, since I couldn't exactly reuse any bullets I fired, but I couldn't help be a little disappointed at that. I really didn't care for the idea of fighting more of those monsters up close.

After a couple dozen more questions from all of us to Annabeth, ranging from more about her so-called base (an apparent summer camp for half-bloods, as she called herself and her fellow demigods) to questions about the gods themselves. By the end of our little Q&A session, we knew what seemed to be the basics, but there was a lot more we would have to catch up on in future. For the time being, we knew how to deal with the monsters, and that if we ever ran into a god we should do everything we can to appease them and avoid rudeness at all costs. Apparently, they weren’t above smiting those who offended them face to face, and even if we spoke poorly of them while they weren’t around there could be some painful consequences. I didn’t much fancy being struck by a bolt of lightning just because I mouthed off too much about the mess we were stuck in, so I made a mental note to keep my mouth shut about the gods whenever possible. The idea that they could tell whenever we were speaking of them was pretty terrifying. I didn’t like the idea of supernatural beings watching me full stop, hence the rigorous defences I had set up around my office back in Chicago.

With what I wish I could say was the majority of our questions out of the way, Skulduggery volunteered himself and Valkyrie to take Annabeth back to the sanctuary. They could go and pick up the rest of her celestial bronze stash, and explain things to Guild and everyone else that was on a need-to-know basis in regards to the more delicate details of the situation. They invited me to head back with them, but I honestly needed a break after the massive influx of information and the near-death experience to boot. Instead, I made my way over to Tanith, who had planted herself down on the set of steps outside China’s place.

“Lot to take in right?” I took a seat next to Tanith. She was still holding her new sword, seemingly staring at her own reflection, lost in thought by my guess.

“Has me thinking about some real personal stuff yeah.” Tanith sighed, not looking up. I felt a bit awkward and was about to ask if she would prefer to be alone, but Tanith kept on speaking.

“I never actually knew my own birth parents, and I’ve been hounded by monsters for as long as I can remember really. They kept coming for me, and I kept surviving until I eventually decided to make a profession out of it.”

“You don’t think…” I trailed off, leaving the question just hanging there in the air. It made me think about my own circumstances too. Could I have the blood of some Greek god running through my veins? I had met plenty of colourful characters in my time that certainly could have been now that I thought about it.

“I don’t know, and I don’t know if I want to know really.” 

“Why not? If you did turn out to be a demigod, it would mean that you could maybe meet one of your parents at least, right?”

“I guess, but I feel like that would end up being a disappointment either way.” 

“What do you mean? Wouldn’t it be a good thing?”

“I don’t know, if one of my parents was a god, they clearly weren’t interested in me. They never claimed me or did me any favours. Just left me to fend for myself.”

“Ah…” I didn’t really know what to say to that. I could definitely feel for Tanith and wanted to help her feel better if I could, but this was a personal thing. It wasn’t my place to step in and try and defend Tanith’s parents, whoever they may have been.

“It’s silly really, I know that I don’t need them, that I can get by just fine on my own. Part of me can’t help but wonder though. I want to find out.”

“If you’re sure it’s what you want Tanith, I’d be happy to help however I can. Like Annabeth said, not really any definitive way we can find out unless they claim you with a sign, but I think I should be able to at least do something."

"You think so?" Tanith seemed hopeful, albeit reluctant.

"Back in Chicago, finding lost people and things was sorta my whole deal. You wouldn’t be the first person that I helped find their parents, although from the sound of it will be a lot trickier than my usual jobs.”

“Well, as long as it doesn’t interrupt whatever bullshit job Guild has you here on, I suppose it would be rude of me to turn down the kind offer.” Tanith grinned and I felt my heart skip a beat. With the spring back in her step, she hopped up to her feet and headed for her bike.

“Where are you going now?” I called after her. As a reply, she tossed me the black helmet resting on the seat of her bike.

“Going to grab some lunch, nothing works up an appetite like a double monster-slaying before noon, and you’re coming with me.”

“I am?” I raised my eyebrows. I definitely wasn't objecting. I had been planning on asking Tanith out basically since I had seen her a few hours earlier. 

"Yep, if you're going to be in town for a while, and if you're going to be helping me, think I ought to buy you a coffee and get to know you at least." Tanith winked and I shrugged, donning the helmet and heading over to join her on the bike. I had a moment of awkwardness trying to figure out where to place my hands, but eventually just wrapped them around Tanith's slim waist as carefully as I could. She gave me a funny look over her shoulder, but just shrugged and revved up the bike. 

What followed was an exhilarating ride through the streets of Dublin, weaving between cars and taking turns much faster than I was strictly comfortable with, but with Tanith in control I didn't mind. She clearly knew what she was doing, and wasn't afraid of a little danger. I couldn't help but feel like we would get along just fine.


	10. Chapter Ten

The small coffee shop that Tanith brought us to was surprisingly nice. I wasn't really sure what I had been expecting with a ruggedly beautiful warrior type like Tanith, but somewhere so normal definitely wasn’t it. It wasn’t that I minded, quite the opposite really. After so many unexpected and surprising events, going somewhere so ordinary and comfy looking was a much-needed change of pace.

The shop was pretty rustic in design, it reminded me of one of my favourite pubs back home in Chicago. When we parked up and headed inside I almost immediately felt relaxed. The interior just had the perfect mix of smooth music, relaxing but not overpowering cinnamon and gingerbread scents, and soft lighting. The atmosphere was just so peaceful it was almost like stepping into another world. I could see why someone with as stressful a life as Tanith would like a place like this. The few times I had to deal with creatures even somewhat similar to the ones Tanith seemed to face on daily basis, I needed quite a massive amount of booze or a strong sleeping potion just to sleep afterwards.

It definitely took a very determined and strong-willed individual to face such horror on a daily basis, and that prospect only made me want to get to know Tanith even more. I felt immense respect and admiration for people like her who actively put their lives on the line to protect those who had no clue about the things that go bump in the night. She probably would have gotten along well with my friend Michael, at the very least the two could talk swords. I would have to give Michael a call and catch him up on what was going on in the world when I got a chance. He was pretty connected magically speaking, and had no doubt noticed something strange going on by now. At the very least, it would be useful to get his opinion on the stuff involving gods given his own powerful beliefs. 

For the time being however, I had to focus on the situation right in front of me. Tanith Lowe, easily one of the most stunningly beautiful people I had ever met, was taking me for a coffee. I was a little out of my element, not used to being the one to be asked out, but it made sense. Tanith seemed like a very forward person, I was just happy to be out with her at all.

"What's your poison Mal?" Tanith was leaning up against the counter, eyebrow raised at me as I took a couple of seconds to realise she was talking to me. 

"Oh, I'll just take a regular coffee, nothing fancy." I gave the woman behind the counter a friendly smile.

"You sure? It's on me, no need to hold back." Tanith winked at me before turning to place her own order. 

"I'll have the strawberry smoothie, bacon roll with extra cheese, and a blueberry muffin. Oh, and whatever he's having." Tanith pointed her thumb over her shoulder to where I was standing. I would usually insist on paying for myself, and for Tanith, but at this point it would just come off as rude to make a fuss over it. I was going to just ask for a coffee again, but hearing Tanith order food made me realise I hadn't really actually eaten anything. I was starving, and hardly wanted to spend my first outing with Tanith with my mind focused on food the entire time.

"Regular coffee and a…" I looked at the menu as I spoke. A lot of the food options were similar to stuff you'd find in the US so I eventually settled on a sausage roll. Our order placed, Tanith and I took a seat in an empty booth next to one of the café windows. The café was fairly deserted, only a few other patrons there, drinking coffee or tea whilst wearing headphones and typing away at laptops.   
As I walked by one of the individuals I couldn't help but grimace as I saw his screen flicker and die, I really hoped he had saved whatever he had been working on.

"What was that about?" Tanith leaned over the table to whisper conspiratorially. I didn't think there was much need for it, but I found it exceedingly cute so joined in.

"Magic and technology really don't mix, at least where I come from anyway. Cell phones, computers, modern cars and even just lights, all get fried or scrambled whenever I'm close." 

"Huh, yeah I've never had anything like that happen to me. Can see it being kinda useful though, does it break guns or are those too basic?"

"Depends on the gun really. Simple revolver like Skulduggery uses is just fine. More complex weapons with lots of moving parts? That's where things tend to get messy."

“Ah, guess it could be pretty useful then at least, not being able to turn it off must be a pain though.”

“Yeah, it’s gotten me into about as many scrapes as it's gotten me out of. Had to take a special potion just to fly here.”

“Oh yeah, that must have been pretty terrifying right?”

“Yep, very few wizards ever fly because of it. Really not looking forward to the trip back…”

“Ah, guess we don’t really know when that will be, do we?”

“Not at this rate no. Sounds like whatever is happening is a lot bigger than we initially thought…” I trailed off as someone brought over our drinks and food. I had to give it to Tanith, it all looked and smelled so good. 

“Man, gotta say you have excellent taste…” I nodded to Tanith once we had both finished our food. I still had my coffee and she had her smoothie, but now we could resume the conversation.

“Thanks, I like to think so too.” She shot me a wink that made me blush. I tried to cover up my embarrassment by turning the topic towards her.

“So, about your parents…” I started but Tanith held up a hand, stopping me mid-sentence.

"Look, I know this may be a bit of a big ask with how much is going on at the moment, but do you think we could leave all the big talk about gods, magic and parents for later?” I looked at Tanith as she spoke, meaning to show understanding with the act. I didn't realise that her eyes were already on mine however when I did so, and even though I didn’t mean to do it, our eyes met.

Soulgazing was almost always a difficult experience for both parties involved. You never really knew what you would end up experiencing when you initiated one, which made it quite a risky move. What I saw in Tanith was honestly breathtaking. There was a deep well of pain inside her, accumulated by nearly countless instances of trauma, physical and mental. She had been hurt time and time again from a variety of sources. Monsters, magic, those who had called themselves her friends, Tanith had been inflicted pain by them all so much it was hard to identify any particular trauma. Despite that wound in her very essence, Tanith still held so much love in her heart. Despite this, she hadn’t let all the pain and trauma stop her from feeling love. 

Just as the well of trauma within Tanith was bottomless, so too was her love overflowing. She really truly cared about those close to her. I could see her bond to Valkyrie, Skulduggery and a few other individuals I hadn't met yet. It was a strange thing, the deep well of trauma and overflowing love and protective feelings seemingly cancelling each other out. I could only imagine the amount of strength it would take for a person to remain so positive in the face of these kinds of painful experiences. I honestly had no idea how she did it. The trauma accrued seemed far too much for someone of Tanith's age, but I got the sense there was more to her than met the eye so to speak. Her soul was older than her form would suggest.

While I was gazing into Tanith's soul, I knew she was looking right back into mine too. I didn't know what she was seeing, but I hoped she wasn't too put off. A few people had described what it was like to me afterwards, but it wasn't a static experience. Just as a person is always changing, so to is the state of their soul. I could only hope that whatever state mine was in, it wouldn't scare Tanith off. Just as quickly as the soulgaze had started, it finished. Tanith's eyes wide and my own expression one of embarrassment. She was the first to speak.

"Uhhh, what exactly was that?" She didn't seem mad, just confused and somewhat curious.

"I'm sorry, I really didn't mean for that to happen, it's like the technology thing, not something I can really help…" I always felt the need to apologise whenever something like this happened. It wasn't the first time I had unwillingly fallen into one, but it just felt like such an invasion of privacy whenever it happened. Nobody really wants someone peering into their very soul unexpectedly like that.

"I saw… I saw a guy who feels really insecure and out of his depth, but he doesn't want to run away or just abandon things…" Tanith spoke carefully, reaching her hand out and placing it on top of mine. I started slightly at the sudden touch, but quickly calmed. I felt a warmth come over me, this time not from the coffee. 

“He’s determined to stay and fight. Even if he’s afraid of the unknown, he’s more afraid of letting people down, letting innocent people get hurt. I can respect the hell out of that.” Tanith gave my hand a squeeze and smiled at me. I almost immediately relaxed, immensely grateful that Tanith had responded so well to the mistake. I really could have done with taking a page out of her book when it came to just accepting and rolling with strange new magic.

“Thanks for that. I really do want to do what I can here, but I can’t help but worry about the people back at home too.”

“Ah yeah, you must have quite a few friends back in Chicago right?”

“Yeah, they can handle themselves for the most part, but I’ve still got quite a lot to teach them about magic and how to deal with it without dying horribly.” I chuckled to myself. I couldn’t help but wonder if these kinds of strange Greek gods and creatures had begun popping up in Chicago yet. It shouldn’t have been quite as funny as it was, but I couldn’t get the image of Murphy staring down a minotaur out of my mind. That would be a showdown I would actually pay to see.

“Well, I’d love to meet them someday. If they’re anything like you, I’m sure we would get along just fine.” I laughed at this.

“Yeah, they’re all stubborn idiots too at times, but they care about people. That’s the biggest deal to me really. Innocent people shouldn’t be getting killed due to magical stuff they don’t understand.” 

“Agreed, that mindset is a big part of why I do what I do.”

“You mean the monster hunting?” I made sure to talk in a whisper for that part in particular. 

“Mmm, knowing that each monster I take care of saves lives makes the job pretty satisfying. Honestly, the rush is a pretty big part of it too though.” Tanith blushed at this, and I only then realised her hand was still on mine. I quickly slid my hand back, taking a sip of my coffee as Tanith focused on her smoothie.

“Yeah, that’s the part where we differ I guess. Whenever I come up against a monster, my instinct is usually just to get out alive and protect whoever I can. I don’t know how you can just charge in like that, it’s honestly really impressive.” 

“Is just something that comes with experience I guess. I’ve had enough brushes with death that I’ve come to terms with it. I’ll more than likely die fighting a monster someday, best I can do is come to terms with that and make sure I go out after saving as many people as I can.” I honestly didn’t know how to respond to that. Tanith was as terrifying as she was beautiful. I was extremely thankful she was on the same side as I was. 

"Well, I hope it never comes to that for either of us. Scared or not though, I'm not planning on just rolling over. Next monster I come across is getting a good dose of celestial bronze." I patted my bag on the seat next to me.

“Yeah, they really seem to get the job done. If you ever want a little extra practice, give me a call though.” Tanith grinned, reaching into a jacket pocket and fishing out a cell phone.

“Woah, careful, don’t want to wipe your phone.” I put up my hands in a warding gesture and Tanith quickly stowed her phone back in her pocket.

“Oh right, guess that must make life a little awkward huh?”

“Yeah, I’ve tried older phones and even a pager but nothing electronic likes to stay alive around me for long. If you give me your number I should be able to call you from the front desk of my hotel though?” Tanith nodded at this and I opened up my bag to retrieve a pen and piece of paper. I froze when I noticed Bob, still very much present, the lights in the hollows where the eyes of the skull once would have been glowing softly. I didn’t want to make a scene in front of Tanith, and I couldn’t really blame Bob for listening in considering he couldn’t exactly leave, but I really wasn’t looking forward to all of the teasing and sly comments I knew would be coming from him later.

“There we go, I’m free most days, a lot of my work is at night so feel free to call me whenever really. More than welcome to join me on a hunt sometime if you want to see how a professional does it.” Tanith winked and grinned at me, sliding the paper back over with her number on it. I carefully tucked it into my bag next to Bob.

“And what if I want to call you for non-business reasons?” I did my best to give Tantih a sly grin of my own, hoping I didn’t just come off as creepy. 

“Of course, you’re more than welcome to call me if you just want to chat, what room are you in at the hotel too? May give you a call myself at some point.” I told Tanith and she repeated it a few times, memorising the number no doubt.

Having both finished our drinks, we got up and headed for the door after a little more chit-chat. All in all, it had been a really nice outing, almost enough to make me forget about the utter life-threatening chaos that we had both gone through just a few hours earlier. I was almost sad to part with Tanith, but she had business to attend to and I wanted to wander the city a bit before returning to the hotel. It would be good to have some time alone with my thoughts and I needed to get used to things over here. Before Tanith took off, she pulled me into a surprisingly tight hug. I blushed once again and essentially just became an awkward mess until she pulled away.

“Thanks for keeping me company Mal, really needed that today with all this going on. Not sure how many opportunities we’ll have to go out like this in future…”

“Yeah, I’m sure we’ll be able to make time though. I was serious about helping you find your parents if you want. No pressure though.” Tanith nodded at this, climbing onto her bike and retrieving her helmet.

“I’ll let you know, still pretty unsure about the whole thing, but honestly think I’ll be ok as long as you’re with me for it.” She smiled warmly at me, and I felt my heart flutter about in my chest.

“Happy to help, next time I’m paying though.” I chuckled as Tanith started to laugh.

“You got yourself a deal, be seeing you soon…” Tanith blew me a mock kiss before shooting off on her bike. Leaving me to watch her go, glad she couldn’t see my stunned expression.


	11. Chapter Eleven

It turned out, I wouldn’t have to wait long at all for Tanith to call me after our date. At first, I had been quite reluctant to call the outing that, but after getting back to the hotel and undergoing an intense bout of teasing from Bob, I basically had to admit to myself that was what it was. Tanith was a lot more forward than a lot of people I was used to dealing with, it was both refreshing and scary at the same time. A big part of me just wanted to roll with it, enjoy myself and let whatever happened happen, but an equally large part was afraid. Moving too fast rarely ended well for people, and with the current situation being an unpredictable mess everyone was scrambling about to deal with the future was as uncertain as it possibly could be. Regardless of the risk and fear though, I still found myself wanting to spend time with Tanith. I didn't even hesitate to answer her call once it came through to the phone in my hotel room.

"How's it going Malcolm?" I was surprised at just how clear the connection was. Usually whenever I used a phone, I had to struggle to make out half of what the other person was saying over the static and variety of problems my magic always caused, but not this time. Just another oddity to join the others on my list.

"Hey, not too bad Tanith. Still waiting to hear back from the Sanctuary about what they want me to do next." It had only been a day to be fair, but I was anxious to see what the plan would be once Annabeth fully explained things to Guild and the rest of the people in charge. 

“Ah right, I’d expect a bit of a wait if I were you. Even when the Sanctuary had things together, they always took a while to make any big decisions. For the time being, we’re all on standby.”

“Standby? So we just sit around and wait until they call us in?”

“Officially? That’s exactly the case, but unofficially…” I could practically hear the grin on Tanith’s face as she trailed off.

"Unofficially you want me to come help you with whatever you're doing tonight?" I ventured a guess.

“Got it in one, been hunting a certain creature that’s been sighted a few times, think I’ve pinpointed where it’s likely to show up next but could always use another pair of eyes watching my back, what do you think?” I had to fight the urge to just agree right off the bat, but I didn’t want to come off as too eager, and this monster hunt could be something I just wasn’t capable of handling depending on the monster. My magic packed a punch sure, but I still wasn’t a hundred percent on how effective it was on these strange monsters of myth. That meant my best bet was my fancy new celestial bronze sword, but physical fights like that were more Tanith’s expertise than mine.

“What kind of creature are we talking about here? Another one-eyed monster or something worse?” 

“Hard to say whether it’s worse or not, but definitely not a cyclops. Think around the same size, but with two nice and pointy horns and a hatred of anything red.” It took me longer than I’m proud to admit to work out exactly what Tanith was hinting at.

“You can’t mean…”

“Yup, followed the thing from the trail of smashed red convertibles it left through town, bit hard to explain to the mortal police but a couple of Sanctuary agents managed to chalk it up to vandalism with the help of some mind magic."

"Was anyone hurt?" I wasn't sure how I felt about the idea of using any kind of magic to mess with the heads of "mortals". Hell, I was still pretty uncomfortable with the term mortal as a whole. It felt wrong to look down on those who didn't practice magic. I never thought of myself as better than them. I could do some things they couldn't, the same way a surgeon or rocket scientist could do things I couldn't, but we were all human at the end of the day.

"Thankfully not. I asked Annabeth and she let me know that monsters usually don't attack regular mortals unless they've been ordered to do so." 

"That's a relief at least, you’d expect a magical event on this scale to result in a lot of innocent bloodshed. Anything we can do to minimise that is going to be my priority.”

“Agreed, from what Annabeth has told the Sanctuary we shouldn’t have to worry about any knowledge of this stuff going public either."

"Ah, that mist stuff wasn't it?" 

"Mist, yeah. Some kind of supernatural force that just covers up anything from the world of magic. Makes our job a hell of a lot easier." Tanith seemed happy about the idea, but I still had mixed feelings about the concept. I had never really approved of keeping magic secret like most of the magical communities so desperately tried to. Knowledge could be powerful of course, but even people just knowing there was more out there could save many lives in the long run. At the very least, it would stop people getting themselves killed in idiotic ways by trying to summon demons or sell their souls as a joke.

"Shame we can't really warn the public, but if the monsters don't bother hurting regular people I guess we're alright then." 

"Yeah, so, how about helping me take this thing out tonight? Think you can manage it?"

"I guess so, not like there's much else for me to do while the Sanctuary just has me on standby. Plus getting to spend some more time with you makes it a pretty enticing offer.” I winced as I noticed the bedside drawer that Bob was currently resting in light up a faint orange. I carefully slid it closed and moved over to the other side of the room, bringing the phone with me, ignoring the muffled grumbles I could hear from within as I did so.

“Great! We’ll meet at around ten then, oh, and make sure you bring a coat.”

“Sure, anything else?” I heard Tanith rummaging around, the sound of metal clinking being picked up by the phone.

“On a scale of one to ten, how are you with a crossbow?”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I knew I would definitely have to thank Tanith for the reminder to bring a coat once the events of the night were all said and done. Compared to Chicago, Dublin was practically a tundra even at the best of times. Sitting up on the roof of an abandoned building across from a parking lot in the middle of the night, fully exposed to the elements? Even with the coat and extra layers I was still practically freezing my ass off. The cold frame of the crossbow pressed against me wasn’t much comfort either. It was a weighty contraption, made of some lightweight metal that was practically freezing my fingers off. The only thing magic about it was the bolt itself, a sliver of celestial bronze sharpened into a lethal point. 

At first I had grumbled to Tanith about not just being able to use a gun, but I understood the reasoning. Celestial bronze was a precious resource, now more than ever with it being needed by magical societies around the world to ward off this new threat, we could more than likely retrieve the bolts we fired from something like a crossbow, but if we made bullets we would be largely wasting the material with every shot we fired. Truth be told, I didn’t have as much practice with a crossbow as I would have liked before taking on such a dangerous monster, but Tanith had given me a quick rundown on how to load it. It was a very modern model, not too different from a bolt action rifle and I had some practice with those. The real difficulty was actually managing to hit a moving target, but with how big of a target Tanith and I were expecting being a master marksman probably wasn’t necessary. 

“How’s it going up there Mal?” The walkie talkie beside me crackled to life. Tanith was waiting in the parking lot below, hiding behind a particularly vibrant red convertible. 

“Seems all clear, no sign of our guy yet, you sure he’s going to be showing up here?”

"Gotta be, the thing has hit every car park in the area other than this one. It's the only place I can see it coming next."

"Alright, you sure you’re going to be fine behind that car?” I didn’t want to undermine or question Tanith, but it was hard for me not to worry when she was quite literally sitting right next to where we were expecting a massive monster to come crashing angrily into the area.

“I appreciate the worry, but I’m all good. Being right in the middle of danger is sort of my preferred position when it comes to situations like this.” 

“Ah fair enough. I think I definitely prefer a comfortable distance.”

“Not much of a physical fighter?”

“I mean I can throw a few punches and I’m pretty decent with a sword, unless you compare me to someone like you at least, but yeah, I prefer preparation I guess.”

“Preparation?”

“Yeah, doing my homework, preparing a few magical items and ending the fight before it really begins. Obviously can’t always rely on that though, especially now since none of us seem to understand even half of what we’re dealing with here.”

“Ah… yeah I’m sorry about that. It must be pretty frustrating. I’ve felt the same way at times.”

“About the Greek god stuff?”

“Not this particular stuff, this is a situation I feel I can actually do really well in at least. If it can be killed with a sword, I’m in my element. We’ve run into a lot of really terrifying stuff where my style of fighting is pretty much useless though, and then I just feel entirely useless.” Tanith sounded pretty sad toward the end of her explanation, and I remembered our soulgazing session. She had been hurt a lot, more than I ever had. Her combat skills were definitely impressive, but she was far from invincible.

“Well, if it helps, I’m pretty sure nobody expects you to be invincible Tanith. You do your best, and you save whoever you can and protect your friends while putting yourself in the line on fire. Nobody could ask you to do more than that.”

“I guess, but it doesn’t stop me wishing I could do more. Thanks anyway though, I still appreci-” The walkie talkie crackled out mid-sentence, and for a second I thought my magic had finally got to the device and rendered it useless, but then I heard the loud thumping sound off in the distance that Tanith must have caught before me. Our target was approaching, and doing so at a rapid pace from the sound of it.

Taking Tanith's cue, I switched off my own radio. I wasn't sure how, but monsters were supposed to be able to sense that kind of thing to some degree according to Annabeth. At a distance that was fine, it would help lure the thing here at the very least, but we still wanted some kind of element of surprise, to hopefully end the fight quickly and without any injuries. I leaned into the stock of the crossbow, looking through the scope up the street in the direction of the approaching thumps. 

"Oh shit…" I mumbled as I saw the massive looming shape approach. I had a rough idea of what to expect from the old stories and legends that pretty much everyone knew, but the reality of a minotaur was infinitely more terrifying. The words "hulking behemoth" sprang to mind, and that was before it even made it into the light and I could make out it's full form, covered with rippling muscles and nearly as tall as the building I was perched on top of. I had thought I would be safe up here, but if the minotaur really wanted to, I would be able to reach me and rip me apart with its bare hands easily.

I was tempted to break the radio silence and yell to Tanith that she should run. She had handled the cyclops fine, but this thing looked faster, stronger and deadlier in every way. The cyclops had been a slow creature, moving almost leisurely as if trying to crush flies. The minotaur on the other hand (or hoof), was a lean, mean killing machine of a creature. It was clearly a serious fighter, and no easy kill for Tanith by my estimations. It was also very tempting to take a shot as the beast was charging towards us. It was moving in a straight line, making a clean shot pretty easy. That wasn't the plan though, and even if it was, I honestly don't think I could have pulled the trigger right then. My hand was trembling, the mental image of the Minotaur changing course and smashing me to paste too strong in my mind.

"We are way out of our depth here…" I looked down at my crossbow, the bronze-tipped bolt suddenly feeling pretty insignificant compared to the raging bull. I needed a full on ballista or something.

Just as Tanith predicted, the minotaur stopped and turned into the carpark, a hoof crunching down onto a red car near the front as it did so, windows shattering as the vehicle caved in under the immense force. I shuddered as I imagined what could happen if Tanith were too close to one of the cars when the minotaur went into a "bull in a china shop" type of rage. I kept my crossbow trained the best as I could as the monster smashed a few more cars around the parking lot. When Tanith had first explained the pattern to me, I almost hadn’t believed it, but the minotaur really was exclusively going after red cars. Before I could dwell too much on the bizarre reasoning behind this pattern, I was forced to focus as the minotaur turned to the specific red convertible that Tanith was crouched behind. Ready or not, it was my time to act. 

The red convertible was tactically positioned so that when the minotaur turned to face it, it would have it’s back to my sniping position, meaning I had a clear shot right between the shoulders of the monster. I took a deep breath, making sure things were fully lined up, and pulled the trigger. The bolt whistled through the air, and I held my breath in, hoping beyond hope that I had adjusted enough for the wind. Thankfully, it seemed I hadn’t messed up my comparatively simple task. The bolt slammed directly into the minotaur just below it’s left shoulder, causing the beast to roar and convulse in pain, spinning around from the car and staring right at me, beady eyes narrowing on my position as I let my breath out.

“Come on Tanith, you’ve got this…” I whispered, trying not to let panic take hold as the minotaur seemed to prepare for a charge. Sure enough, just as we had planned, Tanith took the opportunity to slip out from behind the car and hop on top of the roof of the vehicle. From there, she launched herself into the air, celestial bronze blade at the ready. Then everything went to hell.

“No!” I yelled out as the minotaur spun around with unbelievable speed for a creature of that size. Tanith’s eyes went wide but it was too late for her to dodge, she was already in the air and the minotaur was swinging an arm right at her. There was nothing magical or otherwise I could do to stop it from my distant position, so I was forced to watch as Tanith’s body flew across the parking lot, landing on a disgustingly yellow car at the opposite end, crumpling the roof from the sheer force of the impact. The minotaur seemed to sneer as it stalked over to her, and I snapped into action. I wouldn’t have time to get over there, but I could at least give Tanith an opening of some kind. I fumbled with the crossbow in desperation as I loaded it with one of the spare bolts, and took aim once again. I didn’t have time to be precise, so I just lined the shot up the best I could and sent out a silent prayer to any and all gods that may have been watching over me. 

Call it luck or divine intervention, but my desperate move paid off. The crossbow bolt slammed into the minotaur once again, this time right in the small of it’s back, causing yet another houl of pain from the huge creature. This distraction achieved just what I hoped it would. Before the monster could fully recover from the second shot, Tanith had rolled off the car, sword in hand, and slashed the beast across the ankle, bringing it down to its knees. From there, she drove the blade point-first into the minotaur’s side, causing the beast to explode in a cloud of dust. A lethal blow. I was about to cheer, but then I saw Tanith collapse into a pile, dust falling all around her.


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As a warning, this chapter is where things start to get sexually excplicit, so if that kind of thing isn't what you're here for, best to turn back now.

I wasn’t quite sure how I got there, but before I knew it I was in the parking lot next to where Tanith had landed. Thinking back on it, I may have just jumped off the roof in my panicked state, instinctively using magic to cushion my fall, but at the time my own safety was far from my primary concern. Thankfully, by the time I reached where Tanith had fallen to the ground, she was already starting to stir. I held off on letting out a sigh of relief right away, despite the signs of life. I knew that it was more than likely her ribs had been shattered from an impact like that, possibly her spine depending on how she was positioned. I didn’t know much about first aid, and didn’t even have any magic that could help, healing was far from my specialty, and trying it without the sufficient knowledge would likely end up hurting more than helping. Despite my concerns, Tanith’s stirring quickly turned into her getting to her feet, leaning against the crumpled car she had been smashed into with a groan of pain.

At first, I just stood there, watching wide-eyed and mouth agape like an idiot. In my defence, it was a pretty fair assumption to make that somebody who just got hit as hard as Tanith did probably wouldn’t be getting up for a while, if they ever did. Seeing her groggily stand up, leaning on another nearby car that had avoided the minotaur’s wrath filled me with amazement, happiness and relief all at once. I had to resist the temptation to run up to her and pull her into a tight hug. Once I recovered from the initial shock of her miraculous recovery, I offered Tanith a hand, unsure whether or not she would be able to stay on her feet without support. She shook her head, slowly but surely straightening up even further and letting loose with another pained groan.

“Ughhh, worst part of fighting giant monsters, no contest…” Tanith wiped her mouth on a leather sleeve, cleaning off where blood had been dripping from her lips.

“I… I can imagine so, yeah…” I nodded, still more than a little dumbfounded.

“Not my first rodeo though, as you Americans would say.” Tanith managed a grin and a wink and I finally asked the obvious.

“How are you even alive after something like that? I thought for sure…” I trailed off, not wanting to voice my fears. I didn’t really need to regardless as Tanith seemed more than aware of her near death experience. In response, she turned, showing me her finely tailored leather jacket.

"My jacket, it's Bespoke." Tanith grinned as I gave her a puzzled expression.

“So it’s magically bulletproof or something like that?”

“And then some, hit like that is still going to leave me feeling pretty sore and I’ll have one hell of a bruise for a little while, but nothing broken.”

"Well, whatever it's made of, put me on the waitlist for a duster made out of the same stuff."

“Sure thing, I think that waitlist is going to be pretty long at the moment, but I’m sure they’ll get around to you eventually.” Tanith gave me a pained smile as she rubbed her shoulder. Moving her right arm seemed to pain her a little, definitely not a good sign but given the overwhelming power in a hit like the one Tanith had taken, she was getting away lightly.

“So, what now? Guessing we call the sanctuary, have them come clean up the cars?” I gestured to the parking lot around us where most of the red cars were now little more than crumpled heaps. 

"Pretty much, sanctuary already knows about it though, called them before this so they would have cleanup ready and keep any civilians away.”

“Alright, so what’s left for us to do?” I nodded approvingly. 

“We get out of here, was thinking we could head back to your place.” Tanith grinned, catching me fully off guard. It was the kind of invitation I definitely wasn't expecting given the situation, and in hindsight Tanith may have been largely trying to tease me. Regardless of her initial intention though, I decided to take full advantage of the opportunity.

"Sure, the sanctuary is paying for room service, so wine is on me."

“Ooh, now that’s a classy move Mal, think we deserve a nice bonus for the big public service we just did right?”

“Sure, champagne it is then.” I chuckled, following Tanith over to her bike.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once we got to the hotel, I asked Tanith to wait in the hallway and give me a second to sort something out in my room. She nodded and leaned up against the wall as I hurried inside. I headed straight for the bedside dresser, where Bob was resting, eyes glowing orange as he watched me. I had been dreading this coming conversation the whole ride over, running through the possibilities of how to deal with Bob in the least painful way possible. I couldn’t have him remain in the room while Tanith came in. It would be far too awkward for everyone, and Bob would never stop teasing me about it. I had eventually decided the best way to deal with this problem was to meet Bob halfway and give him something I was sure he would want.

“Welcome back Ha- I mean Malcolm. How did it go? Did you and your lady friend slay the fearsome beast?”

“Pretty much, and now I’m going to need you to leave for the night.”

“Oh… oh!” The light in Bob’s eyes seemed to intensify as he caught on and I desperately wished I had a basement to lock him away in.

“So your lady friend is here Malcolm? Why don’t you invite her in? I’d love to say hi and maybe…”

“Nope. Not happening. I’m giving you permission to head out until noon tomorrow in exchange for staying far away from here tonight. Do we have a deal?” Bob was quiet for a few seconds as he considered things. I had known him long enough to be well aware of the fact that if I simply let him out of the skull, he would just stick around and watch Tanith and I from the window or something like that. Eventually, he piped up again.

“I suppose that’s quite fair, but you know I have to ask for details come tomorrow.”

“You can definitely ask Bob, but you already know the answer.”

“Fine fine, I’ll just have to find some other form of enjoyment then.”

“No orgies this time Bob, if I see anything on the news-”

“Ugh, could I have a little trust Malcolm? I promise not to make anybody do anything they weren’t already willing to do…”

“Bob…” I spoke sternly and he let out a frustrated sigh of defeat.

“I’ll behave myself, no orgies, no sordid affairs, nothing that you’ll be upset about come morning.”

“Good, because if I hear about you causing anything that sounds even slightly deviant, it’s going to be a long time before I let you out of that skull again Bob.”

Bob grumbled a little more, but agreed to my terms, his spirit leaving the skull and leaving the room via the window. I wasn’t sure exactly what kind of mischief he would be getting up to, but I knew Bob well enough to be sure he wouldn’t cause anyone any harm. The worst-case scenario I could imagine was that plenty of couples in Dublin would be having particularly kinky sex that night, their inhibitions mysteriously lowered by the supernatural force passing by and peeking in. I wasn’t so much a fan of the last part, people deserved their privacy after all, but I could make peace with that idea if it meant spending an evening alone with Tanith. I was allowed to be selfish from time to time. With Bob gone, I tucked the empty skull into a drawer on the bedside dresser, tidied up some of my scattered items of clothing and finally opened up the door, inviting Tanith inside.

“Busy hiding dead bodies in there?” Tanith raised an eyebrow and grinned as she entered the room.

“Something like that, ready to order some wine?” I returned the grin, retrieving a room service menu from the small desk next to the bed. When I turned back to Tanith, she had already stripped off her jacket and shirt. Before I could do anything other than stare at her perfectly curvy form, she had knocked the menu out of my hands and pushed me back toward the bed, pushing me down to a sitting position as she started removing her tight jeans. Seeing me start to stammer, Tanith paused and put a finger up to my lips.

“I think it’s safe to say we both want this Mal, mind letting me take the lead?" Tanith spoke firmly, but not too forcefully. She made it clear I didn't have to do anything if I didn't want, but I knew exactly what I wanted. In response, I simply nodded and stripped off my duster and shirt, Tanith helping me work my pants off as I greedily drank in her nude form. 

Tanith usually wore tight outfits that didn't leave much to the imagination, but seeing her without anything on at all was still breathtaking. She had a slim figure, with plenty of curves, and was practically covered in scars. I didn't want to be rude by staring, but there were so many, both shallow and deep, it was literally impossible for me not to look. I had known that Tanith had been through a lot, but actually seeing the scars, the physical signs of the countless near death experiences she had been through, was another thing. 

"Y-you…"

"I know, don't worry, almost all of these are fully healed up by now." I genuinely didn't know what to say, but Tanith seemed self conscious about her body, which came as a surprise after all the confidence of her making the first move. I decided to help calm her down by making the next move, placing my hands on her hips and pulling her toward me.

"You're beautiful Tanith…" I carefully ran my hands over her form, feeling her shudder softly under my touch. She looked me deep in the eyes as I said so, and the next thing I knew we were kissing. There hadn't even been enough time for a soulgaze to start, she was on top of me and we were passionately making out on top of the bed, both of us having stripped away the last of our clothing and thrown it into a pile on the floor. I had already been hard just looking at Tanith's beautiful body, and my arousal only grew with every second she was pressed up against me, our tongues and bodies pressed against each other as she started to grind up against my crotch. 

I let out a grunt of pleasure as I felt her brushing up against my length. It seemed like Tanith didn't want to waste too much time on foreplay, and that was completely fine by me. We moved further onto the bed, Tanith still on top of me, and I rested against the head of the bed as Tanith sat on top of my torso. The evening had certainly taken quite a turn from where Tanith and I had started out hours before, but I couldn’t deny that quite a large part of me had been secretly hoping something like this would happen ever since I met the blonde-haired beauty outside of the sanctuary.

"You ready?" She panted softly and I nodded. As soon as she had my confirmation, Tanith lowered her hips down against my crotch, and I felt my shaft slide against her ass, my tip lined up with her hole as I moaned and shuddered. It wasn't quite what I had been expecting, but I was hardly going to complain given how good it was already feeling. Tanith bit her lip, continuing to lower herself onto me as I slid inside of her, both of us letting out pleasured cries as I did so. 

At first, I tried my best to be gentle. I knew that Tanith said she was fine, and from what she had told me about her past, the events of the night prior to us getting back to the hotel room were nothing new to her, but I still couldn’t help but worry about accidentally hurting her by going too fast or hard. That worry quickly faded however, as I started to slowly thrust deep into Tanith and we both moaned, embracing hard and feeling each other’s every minute shudder as I started to thrust faster. My reservations and worries both faded fast, replaced by equal parts lust and immense pleasure. I felt as if I were in perfect sync with Tanith as I continued to thrust deep inside of her faster and harder as she kept bouncing her curvy ass on my shaft. I was holding onto her hips as she gripped down on my shoulders hard, my vision staying focused on her bare breasts as we both panted heavily. I felt my eyes linger upwards more than a few times, but I knew that accidentally starting a soulgaze right then and there would be pretty awkward for both of us.

Thankfully, I had plenty to keep my eyes busy. Tanith’s well-toned form really was a thing of beauty despite the many scars. In a way, they made her all the more beautiful. They told a story or a real hero, who had earned each and every slash, wound and burn protecting people. I had seen plenty of flawless bodies with perfect skin before, that of vampires, succubi and other creatures that sacrificed their humanity to attain what they considered to be true beauty. What Tanith had was more beautiful than any of them, what she had was entirely real, and the imperfections only proved that. It wasn’t long before both Tanith and I started nearing the peak of our combined pleasure. We were both dripping with sweat, panting and moaning in a constant rhythm as we neared climax together.

“Ahhhhh!” The immensely pleasurable experience finally peaked as I thrust deep into Tanith one last time. We both let out cries loud enough that I expect they would be audible to anyone passing through the hallway outside at the time, and I came hard as Tanith did the same, the both of us shuddering and panting with exhaustion before the beautiful blonde collapsed, falling next to me on top of the bed.

“So, about that wine…” Tanith was the first to speak up, after several long minutes of nothing but deep breaths as we both recovered. 

In the end, we never actually ended up ordering a single bottle of wine or champagne. Both of us were far too exhausted from the lovemaking to want to get out of the cosy warmth the bed provided. This was especially true after the second and third rounds that followed the first. After we were both finally too exhausted for any more of that, Tanith fell asleep in my arms and I soon followed her cue. Given how the evening had started, I certainly hadn’t been expecting such an enjoyable resolution, but I certainly wasn’t going to complain. That night, I slept better than I think I had in months, and it was a good thing too. With the frightening magical events I was sure were on the horizon, rapidly approaching, I didn’t know how many more nights like that I would get.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

I woke up the morning after the extremely exhausting night I had spent with Tanith feeling surprisingly well rested, despite the relatively short supply of sleep I had actually gotten after the events of the night. It took me a few to fully recall everything that had happened seeing as calling the previous day "eventful" would be a major understatement. Once it has all settled in my mind, I carefully turned to see the sleeping form of Tanith beside me, confirming that the whole crazy experience wasn't just a crazy lust-filled dream brought on by Bob abusing his rather unique set of magical abilities. That idea reminded me that I would have to check the news as soon as I could, to make sure that my incredibly frustrating roommate hadn't broken his word to me via some creative loophole or another.

I found myself just watching Tanith for a while, finding her even more beautiful now that I was seeing her in such an intimate way. She was curled up, hogging most of the bedding, with a serene expression on her snoozing face. It was honestly just incredibly cute to see Tanith in this vastly different way than I was used to. It was like watching a slumbering lioness, a comparison I was sure Tanith would be all too accepting of. It was a blissful moment I wanted nothing more than to enjoy peacefully for as long as it lasted, which unfortunately wasn’t long. Eventually, the sun started to shine onto Tanith’s eyelids, causing the beautiful warrior to start stirring. I tactfully looked away so as to not creep Tanith out when she opened her eyes. She let out a long yawn, stretching her arms, and playfully smacked me on the side.

“Oi Mal, stop pretending to be asleep over there and get up. As much as I’m sure we’d enjoy it, can’t just stay in bed all day.” I blushed and stretched out myself, dropping the act and turning to Tanith.

"Sorry, I've never been good with this kind of thing, always a bit awkward."

"Hey it's all good Mal, we survived a literal raging bull last night, we can survive a little bit of awkwardness right?" Tanith let out another long yawn, looking around the room bleary-eyed. It turned out my hurried cleaning was mostly for naught the previous night, as we really only focused on the bed, but I was still thankful I hadn’t left things a mess for her to see now.

"Yeah, I'm sure we'll be fine. You hungry?" I tried to brush off the embarrassment the best I could with one of my favorite distractions: food.

"Starving, don't suppose you have anything to eat here?" 

"Not really, unless you want a complimentary mint for breakfast?”

"I think I'll have to go ahead and decline that generous offer, yeah.” Tanith laughed, sliding out of the bed and stretching, her beautiful form still entirely nude. I instinctively looked away, even though I’d seen it all the previous night. As much as the caveman side of my brain wanted to stare dumbly, my inner gentleman ended up winning out in the end. With just how brazen she was acting though, I don’t think Tanith minded either way.

“Well, if you want to have a shower, I can order some breakfast and should be here when you’re done, in the mood for anything in particular?” 

“Nah, I’m good with pretty much anything. I trust you with it.” Tanith winked before leaving the room. After waiting to hear the shower start running, I hurriedly dressed myself and checked the drawer that held Bob’s skull. I was deeply relieved to see that it was still empty. I had given the mischievous spirit until midday in my orders, but if he truly wanted there was nothing to stop him returning early as it technically wouldn’t be breaking his word. It was just the kind of insane thing Bob may try to mess with me, but thankfully when I checked, he was still gone.

With that sorted out, I placed an order for room service, some breakfast croissants for myself and Tanith before we headed out. It reminded me that I never had ordered any of the wine or champagne I had promised Tanith last night. I guess in the end we didn't really need any of the social lubricant to help our evening go by smoothly. There really was nothing like surviving a brush with death to make people loosen up, the adrenaline turning into more of an aphrodisiac once the danger had passed and we emerged victorious. It usually wasn’t my style to move so quickly in pretty much any kind of relationship, but I suppose the incredibly forward nature of Tanith had rubbed off on me somewhat in the admittedly short time I had known her. It felt like we were a good match, and that led me to some painfully insecure worries that Tanith may not have been feeling the same way.

“So, I’m hoping this wasn’t just a one time thing or anything?” I winced at how desperate I knew the question must have sounded, but Tanith just laughed, finishing off the last bite of her croissant and turning to face me with her trademark grin proudly plastered across her face.

“Well, I wouldn’t expect it to be a regular thing since I’m sure we’re both going to end up busier than we can imagine with all this going on, but yeah I definitely don’t plan on just ghosting you if that’s what you’re worried about.” Tanith winked at me. I wished I could be as easygoing as she seemed to be all the time. Well, almost all the time at least. The only time I had really seen her cool and confident style slip was when we talked about her parents. The accidental soulgaze perhaps heavily contributed to that.

“Yeah, I understand, just really not the kind of thing I’m used to I suppose and I don’t want you to think I’m the kinda guy to normally act like that.” 

“You mean sleeping with a client?” I went wide-eyed at that but Tanith simply brushed it off with a laugh.

“I know what you meant Mal, you don’t seem like the type to hook up with someone so quick, it’s part of what makes you so fun to tease. But hey, we both enjoyed ourselves and I don’t regret anything if that helps.” I tried not to let out an audible sigh of relief at that.

“And hey, technically not your client yet anyway, so it’s all above board right?”

“Good point, glad we met beforehand though. If you had approached me as a client first, can’t lie, it would be a little awkward to be sleeping together.”

“Hopefully you’re not going to let that stop you from helping me out now though right?” Tanith clearly knew the answer, but I could understand why she was asking. Was good to have out loud confirmation on these things sometimes.

“Of course Tanith, I can promise you regardless of what happens between us, I’m going to help you."

"Thanks, it's really good to hear that…" Tanith trailed off and I could tell she was deep in thought. I gave her the time to collect her thoughts, silently wondering when Bob would be back and hoping it wasn't while she was here. Bob had a tendency to make things as awkward for me as possible when women were around.

"Mal, I am genuinely sorry if I made things awkward for you at all by being so forward last night." Tanith sighed, reaching out a hand and placing it on top of mine. 

"I guess I didn't really think too much in the moment, I could tell you were interested in me, and I'm definitely interested in you like that, but I should have thought about it making things awkward professionally yeah?" 

"You're really fine, like you said, if we can survive a Cyclops and Minotaur attack, pretty sure we can survive a little awkwardness right?" Tanith laughed at that, giving my hand a squeeze that made me grin.

"Right you are Mal. Just speak up if I ever take things too far yeah?"

"Sure thing, but I wouldn't worry. Like I said, really don't want last night to be a one time sorta thing."

"And it won't be, can say that for sure." Tanith leaned in and planted a kiss on my cheek. 

"Now, I should probably go take care of a few things and check in with the Sanctuary, you got plans for today?" I wanted to say no and try to tag along with Tanith, but I needed to make sure everything was alright with Bob and check in with the Sanctuary myself later on. With the flurry of activity since Annabeth had shown up, my own arrival had been pretty much swept under the rug and they clearly didn't know what to do with me. I was just happy to help wherever I could for the time being though.

"Yeah, I've got a few things to sort out here but if the Sanctuary give me a choice on what to do maybe I'll see if I can do some more monster hunting with you."

"Sounds good, we'll make a real hunter out of you yet Mal." Tanith winked. 

"If you say so, definitely not something I can see myself enjoying as much as you though."

"That's fine, some people skydive for fun, some people just prefer curling up with a nice book. Nothing wrong with either of those, just know which one I prefer."

"Definitely an interesting way to think about it I suppose." I chuckled, walking to the door with Tanith.

"Want me to walk you out?"

"Nah you're ok, gotta call up the Sanctuary to check in, can't really do that when I get on my bike."

"Alright then…" I stood awkwardly in the doorway, not really sure how to say goodbye. This was partly why I didn't like rushing things. I wasn't sure how to define my relationship with Tanith. There was obviously a lot of sexual attraction as well as a strong emotional connection, but I didn't know her well enough to know if she was even the type for serious relationships. Thankfully, Tanith made the first move and wrapped her arms around me, pulling me into a tight embrace.

"Thank you Mal, I had a great night, and I'm really looking forward to seeing you again, call me soon yeah?" Tanith squeezed me tight, and I was reminded once again just how much power her lithe frame concealed.

"Glad you enjoyed yourself as much as I did Tanith, I'll definitely call soon, but you can feel free to get in contact whenever you're ready to talk about finding out about your parents. I'll do some research in my own time, but no rush. I know things like this can't be easy." Part of me immediately regretted bringing up such a sensitive topic as Tanith was leaving, but when the hug ended she was smiling warmly.

"Thanks Mal, I'll keep it in mind. Promise I won't put it off forever, just give me a little while to get my shit together before we go looking." Tanith managed to make it sound light-hearted, and I did my best to return the smile.

"Always here if you need to talk about it, see you soon." With that, Tanith and I exchanged a last look before parting ways. I closed the door to my room and looked around, suddenly feeling uncomfortably alone. Part of me really wished I had smuggled Mister over to Ireland somehow. The cat would probably make a better roommate than Bob at the very least. 

I mentally reminded myself to try and work out some kind of deal with Bob for future visits from Tanith. It wasn't that I was trying to hide his existence from her, but having him anywhere nearby while something like last night was happening just wasn't ok by me for a myriad of reasons. Unfortunately, I couldn't really get on with the research I had mentioned without Bob back in his skull. So I fished a slightly crumpled paperback out of my travel bag and waited. I knew that Bob would almost certainly take full advantage of the outing I had given him, so I wasn't expecting him back for several hours. In the meantime, I busied myself by properly tidying up my room, reading a few chapters of my novel, and ordering an early lunch on the Sanctuary account. 

I really hoped they didn't revoke those privileges anytime soon, as the hotel food was incredibly nice. I wanted to sample some more of the local cuisine too, like at the café Tanith had taken me to, but it would probably be best to ask around to find a good place first. I definitely wanted to visit a real Irish pub at least once before heading back to Chicago after all, and there were supposed to be some famous museums I figured were definitely worth checking out too while I was here. Maybe I could ask Tanith to accompany me if we got a day off sometime in the near future.

The time passed quicker than I expected, relaxing in the hotel room, eating the club sandwich I had ordered shortly before Bob was supposed to return. Midday came and went however, and Bob was nowhere to be seen. I had been expecting him to come back through the window in his ghostly form and surge back into his skull, telling me about all the hijinks he had gotten up to that I would no doubt disapprove of immensely, but he never showed up. I even got the skull out and tried to see if he had come back much earlier than his deadline and was just hiding, extending my senses into the vessel and finding only traces of magic that Bob had left behind when he departed.

The vessel was still empty, and Bob had failed to return by one in the afternoon. By that point, I knew something must have been very wrong. Bob was bound by his word, and even if he wanted to, he couldn't break our agreement of his own volition. The fact that he hadn't returned by our agreed upon time could only mean a couple things, and none of them were good. Either Bob had found some kind of loophole that allowed him to stay out longer than I expected, which I found incredibly unlikely, or there was something actively keeping him from returning. The former was something I could almost certainly disregard. Even in a rushed state, I had been careful and firm with my words. I couldn't see any possible way he could exploit them, and even if he could, Bob knew better than that. 

He may give me a hard time and tease me an awful lot, but Bob and I do have a bond of trust that I doubt he would just break without a significantly important reason. Which meant I had to focus on the alternative. Someone or something must have sensed Bob's presence on his outing, and found a way to trap him, or worse. I didn't want to consider that last possibility, but during my short visit to Ireland, I had seen a lot of strange magic that didn't follow any of the rules I was used to. I couldn't rule anything out at this point, which made the task of finding the missing knowledge spirit a daunting one to be sure.

Thankfully, I happened to know a couple of people who would likely be willing to help me search, and I also had a pretty good idea of where Bob may have tried to go on his outing. In hindsight, it was probably something I should have expressly forbidden him from, but at least it gave me a lead. I really wasn't looking forward to it, but it seemed like I had no choice but to pay China Sorrows another visit. This time however, I was going to be coming prepared.


End file.
